


Usually

by Haibaka_luvs_nyaku, Nishinoyass (Haibaka_luvs_nyaku)



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Boat Sex, Boats and Ships, Captain Kim Hongjoong, Chan and felix are in loveee, Choi Jongho is Whipped, Choi San is Whipped, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fey Lee Felix, Fluff, How Do I Tag, Love, M/M, Mermaid Soyeon, Mermaids, Mingi and Yunho need to get their shit together, Pirates, Prince Kang Yeosang, Witch Lee Minho | Lee Know, Witch Park Seonghwa, Witches, Yungi pls
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:29:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25422439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haibaka_luvs_nyaku/pseuds/Haibaka_luvs_nyaku, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haibaka_luvs_nyaku/pseuds/Nishinoyass
Summary: Captain Hongjoong and his crew didn't usually take in strangers who looked like angels straight from heaven. He usually doesn't allow said strangers roam around his ship freely like as if he's in love with one of them...Usually, that is.--this was supposed to be a one-shot but I decided to divide it?
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Felix, Choi Jongho/Kang Yeosang, Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 43
Kudos: 185





	1. Chapter 1

It usually wasn't like this.   
  
Usually, Hongjoong would be right beside the helm with a knife in hand, either sharpening it or drawing cute nothings on the handle. He didn't like watching his crew operate around Aurora, he liked giving them their piracy but he always noticed the way Mingi would cling to Yunho, hoping he'd drop whatever he was doing (usually cleaning or cooking) to hang out with him and do absolutely nothing together.   
  
If it didn't work like it always does, Mingi would let out a heavy sigh and sulk, already making his way towards San's room to complain about the lack of attention. If anything, Hongjoong noticed how San never pushed the other away, choosing to keep him company in exchange of cuddles (he walked past San's room one day). Other than that, Hongjoong knew San mostly spent time in his room or annoying Jongho on the bow of their ship.   
  
Besides that, Jongho tried his best to ignore his hyungs and focus on his workouts and exercises. Even though Hongjoong was the captain, he definitely did not want to be on the receiving of any of Jongho's punches.   
  
However, there were some days where the five of them would get together and just mess around. They had some board and card games from the runs they did in town and so, occasionally, Jongho would pull up a table, big enough for the five of them and drag his best friends to the middle of Aurora for some bonding time.   
  
That's how they usually spent their days on the sea.   
  
_Usually._   
  
What they didn't usually do, is pick up random, handsome, angel-looking strangers from a boat, who looked nearly dead, mostly due to the obvious lack of water and food they had.   
  
"Hyung," Yunho called from the other side of Aurora. Hongjoong spared him a glance, raising an eyebrow and Yunho just motioned him over with his hand, gaze still focused on the ocean ahead of him through his telescope, "I think you should come see this."   
  
See, that didn't usually happen either. Hongjoong trusted his friends enough to let them make decisions around the ship. Sure, sometimes one of them would come up and ask whether they were allowed to leave the ropes down to catch more fish for dinner or if they could go up the mast, but they were mostly free to do whatever they'd like as long as they were safe.   
  
It wasn't like Yunho to call Hongjoong for something, so the latter stood up from his spot, locking the helm in place as he slipped his small knife back in place.   
  
The closer he got, the clearer the view in front of him got and only then did he notice the small smudge of brown on the water. He nudged Yunho out of the way softly, squinting before stretching his hand out for the telescope.   
  
"Is that..."   
  
At Yunho's hum, Hongjoong really did consider leaving the three strangers stranded on their little boat. From where he stood, Hongjoong couldn't see any of the three men moving but he could make the slow rise of their chests every time they took a breath.   
  
"What's going on?"   
  
Hongjoong wordlessly handed Jongho the telescope, still slightly speechless and he heard the youngest draw a breath, releasing a small _shit_ under his breath.   
  
He heard San and Mingi approach them too, curiously asking why everyone was huddled up at the front and Yunho disclosed their newest findings.   
  
"What do we do, Captain?" San asked, giving the telescope back to Yunho.   
  
Hongjoong took a few seconds to reply, humming as he thought and tilting his head with a small crunch at the eyebrows, "I don't know, what are you guys thinking?"   
  
"They're very pretty." Jongho was the first to break the silence.   
  
Mingi cackled, patting him repeatedly on the shoulder, getting a threatening glare in return and San chuckled, "he's not wrong." 

Usually, the crew would merely pass by, even speeding up to avoid having to help whoever was on the other ship but clearly, this wasn’t like usual. Hongjoong only considered that option and in the end, the looks of the three men won him over. 

“Let’s raise ‘em,” he decided. 

Jongho’s eyes widened and he turned to face the captain. 

“Really?” Mingi exclaimed, grasping Hongjoong’s forearm. 

San didn’t say anything, but his face expressed the shock everyone shared – only Mingi seemed partially excited. 

“They look dead,” Yunho added, looking at them once more. 

The Captain chuckled, already moving behind the helm, “let’s check that theory.” And just like that, everyone started moving. 

Once the leader deemed them close enough, Hongjoong locked the helm in place again. Aurora was nearly beside the unknown boat now, and Yunho was quick to throw the two ropes over, holding onto one of them tight, Mingi right behind him, grip tight too, with Jongho holding the other one, soon joined by Hongjoong, “alright, San, just tug when you’re done.” 

With a thumbs-up, San climbed over, hooking his foot around one of the ropes safely and patted the edge of Aurora, waiting to be lowered down. They eased the rope down, making sure to keep the blonde out of the water and waited until the boat was right beside them, watching as San hooked the first rope around the front of the boat quickly. The boat jolted forwards with the speed of Aurora. With careful steps, San walked to the end of the boat and did the same thing, pulling on the rope twice to give the others a sign. 

Hongjoong leaned over slightly, receiving another thumbs-up from the younger and nodded back, “okay, guys, get ready to pull.” 

The group worked together until San was able to pull himself onto Aurora, dragging the boat after him with an extra set of hands (thank you, Hongjoong) and it wasn’t long till the group was standing around the three beautiful men, completely speechless and with no clue of what to say. 

“What now?” Mingi was the first to voice their thoughts. 

Funny enough, no one had to do anything given that one of the boys now had his eyes opened. 

The crew watched as the man blinked once, blinked twice and finally, a third time before cracking his head to the side, then the other. He then sat up, eyes squinting once the sun hit his face and under different circumstances, Hongjoong would’ve jumped at the chance of telling this man how absolutely beautiful he was. 

The Captain saw the way the man's eyes widened and he instantly took a step forward, arm stretched out in front of him as he spoke, “it’s okay, we won’t hurt you.” 

The man only gulped, gripping tighter onto the side of the boat and his dark eyes shifted from Hongjoong to the others, taking each of them in. 

“Hyung, maybe they don’t speak Korean,” Jongho said, tugging at his sleeve. 

Hongjoong hummed at that. 

“ _It’s okay, we don’t want to hurt you,_ ” he tried, this time in English. 

The man before them gulped once more, opening his mouth to speak but no sound came out. He cleared his throat, coughing harshly and Hongjoong told Mingi to bring him some water, moving towards the man without thinking. The boat rocked under his weight as he placed a careful knee beside the man and he rubbed his back, careful to keep the distance and he received the water bottle from Mingi. Honestly, the man probably could’ve done it himself, but Hongjoong decided to unscrew the cap and tilt the bottle slightly, making sure to put a hand under the man's chin. 

He drank at least half the water in a single breath, pausing to breathe but reaching for it, all the same, finishing the water and Hongjoong was _not_ prepared for the rough voice that followed, “thank you.” 

It was kind of embarrassing to say, but the Captain was caught off guard. He didn’t even notice how Mingi had gone back inside the ship to get more bottles, handing it to the man or how another one of the men started to stir up, too. 

Wordlessly, the man immediately went over to his friend, placing a soft hand on the man's purple hair to tilt his head back, just like Hongjoong had done seconds ago and he feed him some water. The purple-haired man gulped down the water eagerly, releasing a desperate groan that made San avert his eyes and clear his throat before the man – Pretty, Hongjoong had decided, moved to the still unconscious blonde. He repeated the same process with him, sighing in relief when the blonde's eyes opened and his hands moved to grasp the bottle in a tight grip. 

“Easy, Yeo,” Pretty had muttered, patting his back. The purple-haired man had moved closer to the two, cautiously eyeing the sailors around them as he whispered something in Pretty's ear and it wasn’t long until they were talked to. “Thank you, for helping us,” Pretty said. He spoke louder, screwing the cap back in place to look at the group, eyes stopping at Hongjoong. 

The Captain took a step back, standing closer to his crew and shook his head, “you seemed like you needed the help.” 

There was a beat of silence where the three just sat inside the boat and drank as much water as they could without getting sick. 

“I... uhm... prepared some... food for you. And more water, if you’d like,” Yunho pointed at the small table they had always pushed up against the wall, “if that’s okay with you, Hyung.” 

Hongjoong only turned to the three men, raising an eyebrow at them as Pretty only nodded, desperation clear on his features. 

“San will help you there.” Hongjoong received a nod from San instantly. He could see Mingi with his hand on his sword, almost as if he were waiting for any sign to attack and he didn’t miss the way Jongho's fist clenched at his side. However, as San stretched his hand to the men, helping the purple-haired man out of the shaky boat first and pulling the blonde after, Hongjoong felt himself relax. The three men didn’t seem to be a threat and if by the way the blonde was clinging at Pretty for support meant anything, they most likely wouldn’t be bringing any danger to the group any time soon. 

Hongjoong stood beside Jongho with Mingi and Yunho slightly in front of them and they kept their eyes of the newcomers, watching out for any weird behaviour they could find. Just because they didn’t look threatening didn’t mean they weren’t and no one was willing to find out for sure. 

“What do you wanna do, Cap?” Jongho spoke quietly, without breaking his focus. 

“What are you guys thinking?” He asked instead. 

Truth be told, Hongjoong wanted to help them out. He didn’t know if it was because of the way San's eyes lingered on the shortest of the three men or if Jongho’s somewhat softer voice had caught his attention. If his men were slightly curious about the newcomers, then he would consider keeping them or helping them out. 

(God knows it definitely wasn’t because Pretty's voice was softer than he’d imagine or how his face twisted in a beautiful expression upon realizing the very alive state his friends were in.) 

“I say we keep them.” 

Mingi had always been the blunt one in between them. He wasn’t stupid, and he wasn’t as blind as everyone thought he was. The brunet knew when to confront someone about something and when to just ignore and pretend it wasn’t there in the first place. 

“Dude,” Yunho hit his shoulder, earning a quiet groan from Mingi. 

“Hey! I’m just saying! They’re pretty, they look like they need help and I wouldn’t mind seeing some new faces around for a while,” he shrugged, smirking lightly before continuing, “it’ll be interesting.” 

Hongjoong didn’t need to look at Yunho to know the taller was sporting a frown on his face, clearly not liking the attention the three men were receiving from the brunet. 

From afar, Hongjoong could see how San's cheeks got slightly pink when he took the bottle from the purple-haired man’s hands, opening it easily and returning it with shaky hands. 

“Sure, they’re pretty,” Jongho started, letting out a heavy sigh, “but can we trust them?” 

Ming shrugged again, “we might not need to.” Jongho sent him a confused look. 

It usually would’ve taken a lot more talking and a better convincing game for Hongjoong to agree this easily, but right now, he resumed himself to tilting his head, shrugging one shoulder and squinting his eyes – an expression he always makes when in deep thought. 

“No, he's right,” he said quietly. “We’ll talk to them. We’ll see what their situation is but regardless of what we decide, we’d still take a while to get back on land if we decide to throw them out. Unless any of you are cruel enough to just throw ‘em back in the ocean, of course.” At the lack of response, Hongjoong smiled to himself, risking a look at each of their faces before nodding, “good. Now, let’s join them and see what the hell happened.” 

With that, Hongjoong stepped around Mingi's tall frame, making his way towards the table. He didn’t need to look back to know the rest were following behind him, he could hear Mingi’s heavy, excited steps and if Mingi went along with it, then so did Yunho, plus, Jongho didn’t look like he was against the idea, to begin with. 

Pretty was the first to notice them approaching, nudging the blonde discreetly with his elbow. The blonde looked up too, eyes widening and San was the next one to notice their appearance, standing up to stand beside his crew, proudly. 

Hongjoong took a seat at the head of the table, pulling his ridiculously large chair slightly forward to lean his elbows on the table, crossing them with a small smile. Under any other situation, he’d probably be facing looks of amusement – his chair was a gift from the crew, which resembles the chair of a king, because of a stupid joke Mingi and Jongho had said. At the time, everyone had cracked up a laugh but Hongjoong had to hold back a tear when later that week, his friends explained the meaning of their gift, all jokes aside. 

But, this wasn’t any other situation and instead, the three men before him looked slightly terrified, save for their pale and skinny appearance. 

"I'm Kim Hongjoong, the Captain of this ship,” he started. He waited a couple of seconds, giving the men a moment to swallow their food before asking, “who are you?” 

He watched the three men exchange a glance between each other, amusement clear on his face at the various expressions the men were exchanging amongst themselves until Pretty cleared his throat, an uneasy look settling on his face. 

“I'm Seonghwa,” he said firmly, gesturing to the purple-haired man first, “this is Wooyoung,” and he then pointed at the blonde, hesitantly, “this is Yeosang.” 

“Like,” Hongjoong glanced at Yunho, who started speaking, “like, the Prince Kang Yeosang?” 

Well, shit, this would very much change some things. 

Hongjoong hadn’t noticed earlier, but the white dress shirt, noticeably damp from the heat and the way the khakis hugged his legs nicely, suddenly made sense. His face looked tired but if you looked closer, you could see the bits of make-up still left on his eyelids and the black lines surrounding his eyes. 

With a sharper look, Hongjoong raised his head slightly higher, almost glaring at the man for an answer, “is that true? Are you a Prince?” 

Wooyoung looked ready to stand up and fight, given the look on his face but for his sake, the man in question placed a hand on his bare shoulder, exposed due to the wide collar of his thin brown shirt, gulping down whatever emotion he had on his throat and nodded, “yes.” 

Behind him, Hongjoong could hear a sharp breath being drawn (probably Jongho) and a small _shit_ being hissed out (definitely Yunho). He felt a hand on his shoulder – Jongho leaning down to speak with a whisper, “Hyung, this changes things.” 

Hongjoong hummed, “maybe,” he replied. He fixed Seonghwa with his eyes, raising an eyebrow and glanced at Wooyoung, too, “and you?” 

“What?” 

“Are you princes, too?” 

Wooyoung snorted, gesturing to his attire, “you think I’d be wearing this if I were royalty?” 

“Then?” Hongjoong pressed, leaning back on his seat. 

“I’m a commoner’s son with a whore,” Wooyoung replied casually, mirroring Hongjoong’s look, “you can guess where my social status lies.” 

There was an uncomfortable silence surrounding them, then. Hongjoong took it upon himself to voice his thoughts. 

“How did a prince,” he raised one finger, “a whore’s son and,” he raised another finger and then stared back at Seonghwa's glare, waiting for the man to fill in the unanswered question. 

“A mage.” 

Hongjoong hummed, “so, how did a prince, a whore's son and a witch,” he raised three fingers, “end up stranded on a tiny, shitty, wooden boat in the middle of unknown sea?” 

Silence, once more. 

Hongjoong kept his focus on Seonghwa, almost like as if he were taunting the man to answer with any sort of attitude. Surprisingly, it wasn’t him nor Yeosang who filled the quiet. 

“We ran,” Wooyoung said, taking a sip of the water. He held his head high as he spoke, staring back at Hongjoong with the same amount of challenge. “You don’t need to know why.” 

“We also didn’t need to save your asses from dehydration,” Jongho hissed, returning the look with a glare. 

Hongjoong chuckled, as did San when Wooyoung’s confidence faltered the slightest bit. He quickly composed himself though, returning the harsh expression as he spoke, slamming his hand on the table to stand up. He leaned forward when he spoke, anger evident on his tone, “in case you didn’t notice, we are too dead on our feet to attack your little crew.” 

It was too fast for Wooyoung to realize, but within moments, San had his long Nagamaki pointed at him, the tip barely missing his throat as the other pinned a threatening look at him, white and brown strands falling slightly over his eyes. 

“Then tone down the attitude, pretty boy,” San tsked, a smirk on his lips, “don’t be a brat and behave, eh?” 

Yeosang moved to stand, probably hoping to back up his friend and put up a fight but Seonghwa beat him to it. 

“Tell your comrade to stand down or I’ll blow his head up with two of my fingers, in less than five seconds.” 

Hongjoong barked out a laugh at the threat, clapping his hands before turning dead serious, face locked in a hard stare with a firm look. “Do it,” he said. 

Seonghwa inhaled, holding Hongjoong’s stare and if Hongjoong didn’t know any better, he would’ve missed the way Seonghwa clenched his jaw and tried to hide his shock. 

“Hyung—” 

“Don’t worry,” Hongjoong immediately stopped Yunho. “He could never do it, he's too weak, right now,” he then looked at San, sighing at the youngster’s reckless decision. “Don’t threaten our guest, Sannie, we’re not pirates.” 

With a wink, San lets his arm fall beside him. 

“To put it shortly,” Yeosang cleared his throat, “I was sick of being told what to do by people with sticks up their asses and dragged these two with me. We took Wooyoung's boat and Seonghwa stirred us away with his magic.” 

“You clearly have never sailed before, have you?” Mingi commented. “Like, you did not think that decision through, _at_ all?” 

Yunho slapped his shoulder, holding back a snort at his friend’s naive tone and Hongjoong rolled his eyes at the two, not holding at serious annoyance at them. 

Turning back to the newcomers, Hongjoong saw the small smile on Yeosang's mouth and the Captain had to fake a cough to avoid laughing. 

“My crew and I weren’t planning on throwing you out. Definitely not now that we have a prince in our hands,” he chuckled, “but we didn’t know whether help you out or send you back to land.” 

At that, Yeosang’s eyes widened in fear, hand searching for something to hold as Wooyoung’s fingers searched for his in return. 

“We'd rather be thrown back to the water.” 

He heard a _pfft_ , most definitely coming from Mingi and a snarky remark from San. 

Usually, if it were anyone else, he'd have thrown them back in the crappy boat and waved goodbye. But, he found himself too interested to send them away. 

“Jongho and San will show you to the showers and a room where you can have your privacy. Someone will come fetch you once dinner is set,” Hongjoong decided, standing up. “Don’t cross the line and I won’t have to kill you.” 

Seonghwa let out a breath. 

And so, San and Jongho asked the three men to follow them inside the ship, San going ahead whilst Jongho stayed behind the line. Though, before they left, Seonghwa chanced another glance at the Captain and with a nod, he said, “thank you, Captain Kim.” 

Saying nothing in return, the Captain merely gave him a nod. The other turned, joining the rest quickly and Hongjoong had to ignore the cheeky look the youngest sent him before leaving. 

Once they were gone, Hongjoong turned to the two tallest crew members but stopped abruptly at the grins on their faces. 

“What?” 

Yunho snorted and Mingi rolled his shoulders to mimic the way the mage had spoken, “ _thank you, Captain Kim._ ” 

Hongjoong ignored the heat creeping upon his neck, “shut up. You,” he points at Yunho, “go get dinner done and you,” he turns to Mingi, “get some clothes for them.” 

“Yes, Captain,” they chorused, walking off in giggles and pushing each other. 

Usually, this never happened but Hongjoong is just a little bit happy that it did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, I hope you guys like it... it's just an idea I've had in mind that didn't see enough of online haha so lemme know what u think in the comments!!!!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get slightly settled in.

“We gave them the second office room at the end of the hall, Mingi already brought some of mine and San's clothes for them and I checked with Jongho who’s on watch, they don’t seem to be plotting anything,” Yunho said from the door, pushing Mingi's hand from his sides to avoid being tickled. 

Hongjoong stands in front of his desk, three different maps displayed in front of him and he hummed at the information, calling them over to his side with his hand. 

“I suppose San is watching over the food, then?” Hongjoong asked, receiving a nod from Yunho before sighing, “right, then come look at this for a second.” 

The pair exchanged a look but examined the maps regardless, waiting for the Captain to voice his thoughts. 

“See, we left this land, a few days ago, maybe four?” He points at the most recently drawn mark on the first paper. 

Yunho nods. 

“So, we should be around this area, right?” He then makes a circle around a blank on the map, glancing at the compass on the corner of the desk. 

“Well, we didn’t follow the current as much, plus no encounters just until now,” Mingi spoke, nodding as he too mentioned to the space on the map, “we should be entering familiar waters as of a few hours ago.” 

“Right,” Hongjoong nodded. He looked to the last paper stretched out on the desk, taking in the few lands in between, “I don’t remember any land with a prince – or any sort of royalty, for that matter, besides those two.” 

Yunho let out a hum, pointing at one of the lands in question, “yeah, this is where I took those pages with the guy with a pretty face, remember? That’s the prince.” 

A beat of silence filled the room and Mingi spoke, “so, we’re taking them back where they came from?” 

That would be the best thing to do, Hongjoong thought. 

They had worked too much and too hard to build a home, only to risk it, by letting some pretty faces ruin what they have. Ultimately, they shouldn’t even have allowed them inside the ship the moment they introduced themselves. A mage was not someone to keep in contact with, much less a prince on the run. 

So, Hongjoong was definitely having some inner fight with his responsible side and his stupid curiosity. 

“That would be the logical thing to do, wouldn’t it?” The Captain wondered. 

“Oh, definitely,” Mingi snorted, dodging a hit from Yunho with a pout. 

Hongjoong chuckled at the two and looked up to see his two other crew members standing by the door. 

“I put out the fire, the rice is ready,” San said, walking further into the room and Jongho followed him in, closing the door quietly. “You’re looking at maps without me?” He pouted. 

“We're talking about some things, come see,” Mingi said, scooting closer to the captain. 

San joined in beside him and Jongho stood in front of the desk, leaning over to see the map better. 

It’s been a good three years since San has joined their crew, just a tad bit after the rest of them had started sailing and when San revealed himself to be good at drawing with a unique sense of direction, Hongjoong didn’t hesitate in taking him in, at first for their benefit but later finding out that the latter fit in more than they'd thought. 

He truly was the only thing keeping them all from sailing around in circles without end. 

“What're we discussing?” The youngest asked. 

“What do you think?” Mingi retorted, pouting at the glare he received. 

“You thinking about sending them back, hyung?” 

Hongjoong didn’t reply, shrugging a shoulder at San's question with a thinking face, “I don’t like the idea of having a very important prince aboard, much less a mage, too.” 

Jongho made a sound of understatement, “you thinking we send them back and let their land deal with them? Or dump them first land we reach?” 

“Depends where they’re from.” Hongjoong said, pointing at the two lands on the third map, “these two are most likely to be the lands they came from and we're all the way around here.” 

“We technically could get there within a few days, though,” San interjected. Yunho raised an eyebrow at him, and San chuckled, “we’ve travelled past these before, so obviously if we followed this path, we’d take around four months? I don’t remember, though it’s written on my book but,” he changes the maps around, placing the third map before the first, “when we stopped at the Blue Fish land, the old lady told us about the woman, remember?” 

A few months ago, nearly a year, they had stumbled across a small land, naming it the Blue Fish land due to a large number of fish they caught that week and Hongjoong would never forget the nice old lady that had received them with open arms, feeding them with delicious meals and beautiful stories which filled their minds with unanswered questions, almost like as if they were her sons. 

The same old lady had told them a story about a young lady who packed her bags and took her magic to travel the world. Twelve years after her disappearance, the young lady returned to her home and announced to her family the different lands she had crossed. According to her, there were only six others over the sea and she couldn’t find any new lands, other than the ones she had already investigated. 

On their map, San had only drawn five in small detail. Which means they were missing two others, should the young lady’s story fall with the truth. 

“We know these lands, but we’re missing two others, right?” 

“Exactly,” San replied, shifting the maps along the table. He grabbed a pencil and drew an arrow pointing upwards at the centre of the second map, “we know that if we sail this way, we reach this land right here,” he wrote down a _1_. 

“Yeah, and if we go this way, we eventually reach the royalty land—” Jongho starts, pointing towards the end of the first map only to be cut off by the mapper. 

“See, but that’s the thing, we don’t know that,” he adds a question mark where Jongho had his finger, drawing an arrow towards it. “We’ve never actually tested it ourselves.” 

Everyone was quiet, letting the new information settle in their brains. 

“Because we've only sailed towards the right and when we sailed the other way, we only went to places we already knew.” 

“Given that the rumours are true,” Hongjoong started, “we could find the two missing lands through here, and send those three back.” 

A heavy sigh leaves San's lips, clearly not very fond of the idea but he nods, “yeah, that sounds like it.” 

“And if we don’t wanna send those three back?” 

Jongho stared at their Captain, slightly shocked at his question and Hongjoong examined every one of his friend’s faces. 

“Then, we can turn back once we come close to their land, regardless if we choose the long way or the new way,” San placed the pencil down on top of their current location. “If we do end up trying to search for the two missing lands, that is.” 

“If not, we just... keep sailing like we do,” Yunho sighed, standing up straight to finally chance a look at the others, “live in Aurora and just be ourselves.” 

Hongjoong kept quiet, allowing the others to fill in the silence with what they had in mind but when no one voiced out anything, he shifted each map to the corner of his desk, neatly folding them on top of the other before sighing, “let’s have dinner and discuss this tomorrow. I’ll go call them for dinner.” 

The group exchanged looks between them, wordlessly communicating and Yunho nodded, pushing the others out of the room as he patted Hongjoong’s shoulders on the way out. The Captain waited for them to leave, smiling at them softly and when they were out the door, making way too much noise, Hongjoong picked up two pieces of paper from his desk, writing down the two options to be considered overnight, _send them back_ or _sail with them_ _._

Putting the two papers propped up against the empty mug on his desk, he walked out, closing the door after him and made his way to the guest room as quietly as possible. 

The closer he got to the room, the slower he walked. He already knew which spots to avoid, if he didn’t want the creaking to alert the newcomers about his approach and he did just that, tiptoeing until he had his head close to the wooden door to try and listen to _anything_. 

Given the years of practice he’s had, he could make out a few words, but not enough to know what they were talking about. After listening in to a few more seconds, he was ready to knock but his face twisted in confusion when he could no longer make the small whispers from inside the room. 

Until the door swung open and even though Hongjoong wasn’t leaning against it, he still had to place a hand on the door frame to steady himself, looking up at the tall man before him. 

“Captain,” Seonghwa acknowledged him with a hard stare, cocking his head to the side, “did you need something?” 

From outside, Hongjoong could see Yeosang's shy posture, arms over his chest as he leaned against Wooyoung and the latter had his arm over the prince’s shoulder, eyeing Hongjoong with the same attitude as before. 

“Uh…” Hongjoong cleared his throat. “Just came to get you guys for dinner.” 

Seonghwa turned back to his friends and Hongjoong released they were having another conversation with her eyes, just like they had a few hours ago. With a nod, Seonghwa faced Hongjoong again, “we'll be out in a few moments.” 

“I’ll wait,” and with that, Hongjoong took a step back, leaning against the wall. 

Seonghwa gave him a glare before shutting the door again, to which Hongjoong only responded with a shrug and then waited, trying to focus on the conversation going on inside the room. It wasn’t until a few minutes later that the door opened once more, this time revealing Wooyoung first, hand clasped together with Yeosang’s. 

The Captain eyed them curiously, ignoring the eyebrow Wooyoung raised at him but said nothing, simply nodding at them to follow him once Seonghwa had closed the door. 

They walked in silence, save for the murmurs being exchanged by Wooyoung and Yeosang, and Hongjoong really had to control himself to not glance back at the mage, feeling the burns of his stare stuck to the back of his head. As they approached the kitchen, Hongjoong could hear the loud laughter, definitely coming from Mingi, probably at something San did and the stern _yah!_ from Jongho, bringing a smile to his lips. 

The kitchen wasn’t that big. 

If anything, it was probably the smallest room they had in the ship except for the bathrooms next to each of their rooms. Though besides the space they used for cooking, it still fits a nice table, with ten seats and chairs, plus the bureau on the other side of the room. When Hongjoong opened the door, he saw the table that was usually pushed up against the corner, situated in the middle with three pots placed in the middle and the four men engaged in a very intense staring competition. Unfortunately, Mingi lost the moment Hongjoong entered. 

“Hyung!” 

Rolling his eyes, Hongjoong walked towards his spot at the head of the table, “you always lose anyway.” 

He pretended not to hear the dramatic gasp and gestured to the extra seats beside his crew, looking at the three strangers. Without hesitation, Wooyoung dragged Yeosang to his left, sitting between him and San (Wooyoung, very discretely choose to sit closer to the mapper) whereas Seonghwa hesitantly moved to Hongjoong’s right, taking the only spot left between the Captain and Jongho. 

To say that the atmosphere in the room was as heavy as fifty cannons, was an understatement. Regardless, Yunho followed their usual routine, trying to follow with what always happened as normally as one could with three other strangers. He stood up from his seat, serving them one by one as Mingi served the water, jabbing at Yunho's stomach significantly less than usual. 

“Thank you… for the,” Yeosang winced at the crack of his voice and he coughed once before continuing, “thank you for the food.” 

Hongjoong received his plate back from Yunho. 

“You’re welcome,” he threw a smile at the prince. Hongjoong only spoke again when Yunho was done, already sat in place and munching at his meal, “where did you escape from?” 

Right away, Hongjoong could see that Wooyoung wanted to reply with something other than the logical answer, probably going for a sarcastic remark, if not for Yeosang who pinched his thigh. San had noticed it too, apparently chuckling as he took a sip of his water. 

“KQ,” Seonghwa replied, eyes glued to his plate. “Do you know it?” 

Hongjoong hummed, nodding. 

“We’ve been there once,” San replied. “Been a couple of months, actually. How did you get so far in that scrawny boat?” 

Yeosang visibly tensed up, glancing at Seonghwa and the latter only nodded. 

“I stirred us away,” he swallowed his food, lifting his eyes to San's in a harsh way. “My abilities revolve around moving and manipulating things as I please.” 

Hongjoong already knew that when Jongho carefully hid his hand under the table, it was to merely place it on top of his thigh holster, mirroring San's actions. Only the latter was blunt enough to place his Nagamaki on the table beside him, eyeing the mage with a challenging look. 

The Captain took it as a sign to intervene, “you’re different from the others, then.” 

“What do you mean?” 

Hongjoong raised an eyebrow, “do all mages manipulate things as they please? Last mage I knew could only make a few a potions and misplace a few her objects.” 

Now, Hongjoong didn’t fear many things. Heck, given his past, there wasn’t much that could scare him, he’d seen and been through too much. However, the shiver that went down his spine, when Seonghwa glared at him with a cold expression, was completely new, and Hongjoong didn’t want to admit it, but mildly terrifying. 

He didn’t let it show through. He hid his expression with a smirk, almost as if asking the man to tell him otherwise. Seonghwa only gulped, returning to his food before saying anything he might’ve regretted. Pushing a chuckle down, Hongjoong, too, took a bite of his food. 

“Okay... well,” Yunho spoke through the tenseness of the room, facing Yeosang with an uneasy smile, “I hope you’re not allergic to… uhm… anything?” 

Yeosang immediately understood the desperate plea and instantly sided with the giant puppy to bring the atmosphere to a friendlier level, “ah, no, nothing but brain cells, apparently.” 

Just like that, the tension broke. 

Mingi barked out a laugh, leaning against Yunho, who tried to hide his laughter and San nearly spat his food, hitting his chest to help with the coughing as he laughed. Wooyoung gasped, complaining right away, with a red face and honestly, if San wasn’t so busy trying not to choke, he would’ve thought the boy was way too cute for his own good. 

Even Hongjoong let out a laugh at the comment, but as he saw Seonghwa remain completely unaffected, he thought of how weird the man was, dismissing the fact that his eyes lingered on his sculptured face for longer than necessary. 

After that, dinner went by easily, the group making small talk, save for the Captain, Seonghwa and Jongho, who even though was paying attention and humming along, wasn’t actually contributing to the conversation. Minutes later, San and Jongho were standing up to tidy the table whilst Yunho was busy with the dishes (and Mingi), leaving Hongjoong to take care of the newcomers. 

He double-checked with his crew before leaving the room, glancing back to make sure the others followed him. 

If they were going to stay, Hongjoong didn’t want them far into the ship just yet. So, he took them to the only other empty room near the entry to the main deck, that way he could prevent them past the dining room and control their whereabouts. He still had to find at least another mattress, the bed inside that spare room would not fit the three men, but he’d do that later. 

They reach the room and Hongjoong opens the door to let them through as he stood at the doorway. 

“This is all we can do for now,” Hongjoong looked around the room from the door, “we didn’t pack enough beds before so, Mingi will probably come by with a few blankets you could use. My room is just down the hall, two doors down from the dining room if you need anything.” 

“Wait, this room is ours now?” Wooyoung asked, eyes as wide as melons. 

The Captain chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the frame, “until we decide what to do with you, then sure.” 

Seonghwa was quick to form his glare, “we’re not objects for you to just cast aside when you see fit,” he hissed out. 

“Listen,” Hongjoong glared back with the same intensity, “I don’t know you or anything about you and the only reason you’re not back in that crappy boat of yours, is because my family is not completely heartless.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Hongjoong could see Yeosang take a stuttering step towards them, hand grasping Seonghwa’s wrist loosely with a soft tug. 

“So, we’re your prisoners, then?” Seonghwa asked, tilting his head upwards. 

Hongjoong hated that he had to look up at the other, but he did, nonetheless, a smirk plastered over his lips, “unless you’re into that, then no, I’d say you’re our guests.” 

Under different circumstances, Hongjoong would’ve squealed or cooed at the blush on the other man’s cheeks, or maybe even teased him about it, but sadly, he had to keep the same expression, only allowing his lips to lift a tad higher. From behind him, Seonghwa disregarded the snort coming from Wooyoung, as well as the heat crawling up his face and cleared his throat. 

“Should we be aware of any rules that are to not be broken?” 

He took a second to reply but Hongjoong shrugged one shoulder, “if you somehow manage to put my family in danger, then the only thing you should be aware of is my knife. Besides that, you’re free to roam wherever you please, except the rooms.” 

He received a curt nod from Seonghwa and then turned to the others, giving them a chance to ask whatever they had in mind. 

“Bathrooms?” Wooyoung questioned, already sitting on the bed. 

“Every room has their own bathroom,” he pointed at the cased opening to the right, “since we all have our own bathrooms, we didn’t exactly waste our time with doors, sorry about that.” 

At that, Yeosang shook his head, “no, it’s more than enough, thank you.” 

“Like I said, my rooms two doors down the dining room, and you’re free to do whatever, just... don’t cross any boundaries and you get to live, unharmed.” When he didn’t get anything in return, Hongjoong nodded and closed the door as he left, making his way to his room. 

On the way, he noticed Yunho’s door closed, indicating that he’d turn in for the night with Mingi and Hongjoong couldn’t help but smile, shaking his head at the two clueless idiots. He checked in with Jongho, getting a goodnight from the youngest too. 

He didn’t see San in his room, but the man was likely out front, either sitting at the top of the mast or mapping at the bow of Aurora but he was slightly surprised to see the mapper hunched over his desk, pencil tight in his hand as he worked on one of the maps from earlier. 

“Hey, Sannie, what’re you doing?” 

The younger glanced up, smiling his dimple smile at the Captain and focused on the maps before him again. 

At first, San would stay cooped up inside his own room, drawing and drawing for days until he could make the shape of a small land. Hongjoong even remembers how he kept losing his small knives, only to then find out that the mapper had various papers stuck to the wall, each of his new missing blades holding the materials in place. It wasn’t until Aurora had gone through two storms, nearly flipping the ship over and dragging the salty water inside their rooms, that they decided to move anything important to the Captain’s room. 

The first time, since San was the closest to the main deck, the water only made it to his room, sadly wrecking anything he had in it, but a few weeks later, just as San had started drawing the maps again, another storm came. The second time around, they weren’t so lucky. The water had made it to Hongjoong’s room and even though the bed and a few sheets got wet that day, Hongjoong noticed how the rest of the papers hidden on the ceiling of the top left corner didn’t have a single drop of them. That was when the crew decided to build a waterproof box with the materials, they had gotten from one of the lands, and screwed it to that same spot for safekeeping. 

Ever since then, Hongjoong had allowed them to enter and use his room as a makeshift office whenever they desired – which wasn’t often. 

“Just adding the detail from what I remember, hyung,” he sighed, straightening his back. He added a few more scribbles and lines to the map and looked up at Hongjoong, “want me to keep watch today? I think it was Mingi’s turn, though.” 

Hongjoong scoffed, grabbing his big fur jacket from the bed. They did have shifts to keep watch and stay on deck, but no one could take Hongjoong from his spot. It was what they were used to, the Captain always stayed on watch.

Regardless, he grabbed a new pocket knife and his small old one before making his way to the door again, “ten bucks in which Mingi is cuddling Yunho, right now.” 

San only chuckled, shaking his head, “not even going to bet against that, we both know it’s true.” 

“But I got it, don’t worry.” And with that, Hongjoong turned to what he usually does, carving little nothings on the handle of his knife with an even older, but decorated, blade as he sat behind the helm. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's a bit of development in each ship if you /really/ squint.

It had been a little over a week and Hongjoong didn’t know how to feel about it. Not that he meant it in a bad way, no. He just didn’t know how to... adapt to the new routine they had going on. 

First, was San. 

Hongjoong didn’t want to admit it at first, but the mapper spent more time on the main deck, and not just with Mingi or Jongho. Lately, he’s been rearranging the few materials they had laying around, chatting with Wooyoung as he worked and Hongjoong couldn’t miss the way their eyes lingered on each other or the way their hands brushed every time they joked around. Heck, even now, Hongjoong could see Wooyoung reaching over and flipping San’s hair out of his eyes. San held onto their scrawny boat as Jongho tied it against the railings of Aurora. 

That was another thing that Hongjoong had noticed. Since Jongho was the strongest out of them all – always has been, they relied on him to do most of the heavy lift. The younger consistently says he doesn’t mind and confesses to liking the workout, something about keeping him occupied and fit. However, Hongjoong knew the younger liked to work out in peace and mostly alone. He did exercise with San often, though because he kept quiet, Jongho didn’t mind it at all. 

So, when Jongho walked out of his room in a sleeveless t-shirt, the next day after the trio’s arrival, Hongjoong had to keep the amused smile out of his face and decided to just greet him a good morning, pretending not to see as Jongho blushed at the sight of the prince watching the ocean. Mingi wasn’t as nice, though. The moment he saw Jongho’s bare arms, he quickly squeezed his biceps with a cheeky grin and questioned him who he was showing off to. 

Oh, and Mingi...

Mingi was probably the most excited to have three new additions on board. The latter was naturally affectionate with Yunho, thus, why you can’t have one without the other and they knew that. He did cuddle San a lot too (the two had gotten awfully close ever since San joined them on board) and the only reason he didn’t drag Jonho or Hongjoong to a daily snuggling session, was because they didn’t like physical contact as much as the taller one does.

That’s why it wasn’t all that surprising when Mingi opened his arms, one afternoon after lunch like he normally does when waiting for a hug, and Wooyoung was the first to hug him back and wrap an arm around his waist, bringing the other to cover his mouth as he laughed and San's impersonation of Yunho. 

Not to forget Yeosang, who seemed shyer than all of them, that had warmed up to Mingi faster than Hongjoong thought. It was three days after they had arrived that Hongjoong caught a glimpse of the two engaged in a conversation about boats, and with Mingi blushing about whatever Yeosang had said (maybe it was just the boy’s beauty, Hongjoong wasn’t too sure). 

Hongjoong had even witnessed Yunho, having a meaningless conversation about cooking with Wooyoung when he passed by the dining room and, although Yunho frowned more often at the lack of attention he’s been receiving from Mingi, he still lowered his guard just a tad, when Yeosang asked about his hobbies and interests. 

To put it shortly, everyone was getting along, his crew members were thoroughly enjoying the new company on board and Hongjoong was both glad and conflicted – blame his trust issues. 

Well, everyone but Seonghwa. 

The mage had been inside his room ever since he’d gotten to Aurora and the only time Seonghwa had left the room, was when all the kids had already turned in for the night. He probably never noticed Hongjoong sitting by the helm if by the way he freely rolled his shoulders and sang quietly to himself meant anything. And, honestly, Hongjoong didn’t mean to stare. He did want to say a _hello o_ r something but the moment the taller man sang the first notes of an unknown song, Hongjoong let himself lay back against his chair and indulge in the peaceful song. Much to Hongjoong’s surprise, that was the first-night Hongjoong had slept without a nightmare knocking him awake. 

Tonight, Hongjoong decided to make himself known. 

After dinner, he helped San and Wooyoung do the dishes and clean the dining room before retreating to let Jongho know he was going to keep watch today (“ _I_ _know, Hyung, you do it every day,”_ ) and saying goodnight to the two tallest idiots on board (“ _d_ _on’t forget to sleep, Captain!”_ ). For a brief moment, he considered stopping by Seonghwa’s room and wish them a good night, but the idea was dismissed just as soon as it came. 

Once he grabbed his jacket and knives and made sure everyone was back in their rooms, he moved over to his King chair instead of sitting by the helm and just waited. He knew that Seonghwa took a few minutes to come out, probably pausing to make sure both Yeosang and Wooyoung were actually asleep, so he made himself comfortable, moving until his back hit the arm of the chair and his legs were propped up onto the other. 

It wasn’t long before Hongjoong saw the mage step out, body covered by a thin blanket. Had he been anyone else, Hongjoong would’ve openly voiced how absolutely adorable the other looked. 

Seonghwa took a deep breath and Hongjoong thought the latter wouldn’t even notice him until he returned to his room, but with another deep breath, Seonghwa glanced around Aurora, like he does every time. His breath hitched when he saw the Captain, lips at the loss of words as he breathed out a, “hi.” 

Hongjoong chuckled, “hi.” 

The mage cleared his throat, looking everywhere but Hongjoong’s eyes, “what... are you doing here?” 

With an amused smile, Hongjoong stabbed a knife into the arm of the chair and sat up straight, placing the other by its side, “here as in... my ship, you mean?” 

Seonghwa rolled his eyes. 

“You know what I mean.” 

“Someone has to watch over Aurora during the night,” he shrugs, leaning back against the chair. 

He watched Seonghwa’s eyes widen at his words and his fists tightened their hold around the ends of the blanket, “you keep watch every night?” 

Hongjoong nodded while Seonghwa glared. 

“You’ve been watching me every night?” 

“I haven’t been watching you–” 

“So, you just hide in your chair and stare at me every night?” Seonghwa raised his voice, taking a small step towards the stairs. 

The Captain wasn’t surprised by the other’s outburst, to be honest. He just hadn’t thought his plan through and was now stuck with no words to defend himself. 

“I don’t hide in my chair, Seonghwa,” he ended up hissing out, “I sit behind the helm every night, it’s not my fault you haven’t noticed me.” 

Seonghwa scoffed in return, shaking his head, “you’re unbelievable.” 

When Seonghwa turned and started walking back inside, Hongjoong immediately panicked a little, “you’re leaving?” 

Seonghwa turned to the Captain, disbelief written over his face, “and why would I stay, Captain Kim?” 

He hesitated for a minute, “you always seem at peace when you come out late at night. Wouldn’t want to take that from you.” 

The surprise that melted onto Seonghwa’s face was evident. The Captain ignored the flush creeping up his cheeks and focused on his reaction, hand already reaching for the knives for some sort of familiarity.

Seonghwa held the blanket with a more relaxed fist and gulped, raising his head in suspicion, “how attentive of you, Captain.” 

“Why do you say it like that?” 

“Say what like what?” 

Hongjoong glared lightly at the man, bringing his pocket knife out to return to his carving, “why do you call me Captain Kim? And then you say it like as if you were mocking it as well.” 

“Well, I wouldn’t want to have my head cut off for being rude to the Captain.” 

Hongjoong risked a glance at him and he tried not to let his emotions show. 

Seonghwa had one hand peeking out the blanket, his pointer finger surrounded by a faint cloud of gold which extended towards one of the chairs beside the wooden table, raising it with no effort at all. Hongjoong couldn’t help but stare at the scene in front of him, following the chair as it flew up the stairs and settled just behind the helm, a few meters apart from the Captain. Seonghwa followed right after it, too, retracting his hand back behind the blanket and sitting on the chair with his knees pulled to his chest. 

It was quiet, then, Hongjoong being speechless for a few moments and still staring at the mage in front of him. 

“I won’t cut your head off, Seonghwa,” he broke the silence, hands resuming to his previous movements. 

“Somehow, I don’t believe that too much,” he sat back on his chair and closed his eyes, tilting his head from side to side. 

“We won’t throw you out, either.” 

Seonghwa snorted, “I believe that even less.” 

“If we were to throw you out, we would’ve already done it.” 

There was another beat of silence where the two just did nothing and the only noise filling the quiet was the scraping of a blade against the handle of another. 

“What’s going to happen to us, then?” 

At that, the Captain looked up at the mage and the need to embrace the other was suddenly present. It wasn’t too clear, but without the blanket, anyone would’ve noticed the slight shaking of Seonghwa’s broader shoulders and the death grip which returned to his fists. Hongjoong didn’t need to look him in the eye to know that the mage was terrified. 

“Nothing,” Hongjoong replied. He received a distrustful look but made sure to look at the other properly, “we only harm those who harm us. We don’t attack first, we protect ourselves.” 

It was true. 

Hongjoong had only allowed one of them to be hurt critically once and he promised himself to never allow it again, no matter what. He remembered when having to stitch a stab wound on San’s side, minutes after they were attacked by a foreign pirate ship. They ended up chasing them away successfully but not unharmed. 

“Why did you decide to let us stay?” Seonghwa’s voice was just above a whisper and if he hadn’t stopped carved then, he probably would’ve missed it. 

Looking up at the mage, Hongjoong raised an eyebrow, “would you rather we didn’t?” 

And Seonghwa didn’t reply. 

He just sighed, rolling his eyes at the Captain and leaned his head back with eyes closed, ignoring the smile on Hongjoong’s face. 

“Hyung.” 

Hongjoong looked up and rolled his shoulders back, wincing at the slight pain on his shoulders and hummed, showing San that he was listening. The mapper entered the room, leaving the door opened. 

“We’re getting low on fish,” San scratched the back of his neck. 

Raising an eyebrow, Hongjoong placed his pencil down and ran a hand through his hair, “just lower the nets.” 

Hongjoong knew his friends, way too well. 

He considered it both a gift and a curse. He didn’t particularly like knowing when each of them had messed up their dinner, but he used it as an advantage to know how they were feeling and whether or not they needed to sit down and have a chat. 

Right now, he knew that whatever had happened, the guilty face San was sporting did not mean good news. He leaned back against his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, “how low on fish are we, exactly?” 

San opened his mouth to speak, closed it, opened and closed and, “uhm… actually, we don’t have… any… fish…” 

“We ran out of fish?” Hongjoong exclaimed, mouth wide in shock, “how, in the hell, we're in the middle of the ocean!” 

“Well, we're not _in_ the middle–” He stopped when Hongjoong glared at him and San chuckled nervously, “right, we may have gotten a bit distracted.” 

Hongjoong didn’t even have time to question him further, Jongho had already appeared by the door, smiling sheepishly at them as he wore the same guilty expression, “hi, hyung.” 

The sharp glare he sent Jongho's way made the younger wince, ducking his head, “I already lowered the nets!” 

“What happened?” 

The two boys glanced at each other before looking at their Captain and San scrunched his nose, knowing he'd have to explain first. 

“Jongho didn’t check the tank on Thursday,” the mapper mumbled. 

“Hey! You didn’t check on it, either!” 

“Hey!” 

“Shut it, both of you,” Hongjoong hissed, looking at Jongho, “why didn’t you check the tank on Thursday?” 

Right then, Yunho joined the three, leaning against the wall inside Hongjoong’s room with a smirk, “he was busy staring at Yeosang– ow!” 

Jongho punched the taller on the arm, trying to look intimidating with the obvious red spreading over his cheeks as Yunho groaned, pouting and rubbing the sore spot. Beside them, San chuckled and Hongjoong could only shake his head, rubbing the side of his face with a small smile. 

"Guys, c’mon,” the three of them calmed down to listen. The Captain sighed, “well, do we have anything to eat today?” 

They all looked at Yunho, expecting an answer, but the boy remained static. 

“Huh?” 

“What do you mean _huh,_ you’re in charge of the kitchen most of the time!” Jongho exclaimed. 

Yunho’s ears began turning red in embarrassment and Hongjoong was about _this_ close to losing it. 

“I, erm... don’t really know.” 

“Oh, my god,” Hongjoong groaned. He let his head hit the table in a loud thud, feeling a headache already settling on his head before addressing the three in front of him. “How do you not know?” 

He watched the latter fiddle with his fingers, eyes downcast. Jongho glanced at him, guessing the answer, only to let San speak for him, “he was too busy staring at Mingi.” 

This time, Yunho punched San’s arm instead. 

The Captain stared at them for a while. He felt like shouting, remind them of their responsibilities but the looks on their faces already said enough, so instead, he stood up and walked until he stopped in front of them. 

“I’m going to see what we have down at the emergency box,” he exhaled, “c’mon, guys. I get that we have new people in and it’s all very cool and they’re very pretty, but you know we have stuff to do, as well.” 

They nodded, mumbling out a _yes, hyung_. 

“Alright,” Hongjoong started, “I want two of you by the nets, try and see if we get at least something for dinner and I’m going to guess no one’s been doing laundry either?” He waited for a response but got none. “Why am I not surprised,” he mumbled, lips curling upwards just the slightest bit, “then I want someone doing the laundry. I’ll go check on the emergency stash and then get someone to sweep the floors, it’s been getting quite dusty lately.” 

The three exchanged a look amongst themselves, but no one said a thing, merely nodding at the orders. 

Once they were out the door, Yunho nudged Jongho with his elbow, “you didn’t say it.” 

The youngest glanced back to see Hongjoong exiting his room, but going the opposite direction as them, before turning back, “well, you didn’t either.” 

“No one’s going to say it,” San scoffed back. 

“Mingi might.” 

Jongho nodded at that, scrunching his face as he imagined their Captain’s reaction to it, “I don’t think we should mention it, at all.” 

“Yeah!” Yunho exclaimed, slinging an arm over Jongho’s shoulders, “they were just talking, anyways.” 

“No, you know it wasn’t just talking,” San sighed. They reached the main deck and paused, “that was not _just talking_ to Joong-hyung." 

“Can we please just do our chores?” Jongho groaned, pulling Yunho towards the left side, “you’re on laundry duty, Sannie-hyung!” 

“Yah!” 

Before San could complain further, Jongho and Yunho ducked out of the way, giggling as they busied themselves with the fishing nets and the mapper could only pout, dragging himself to work. 

He made his way to his room first, bringing the basket with the few pieces of clothing in it before moving along to Yunho’s (and Mingi’s) room and dumping their clothes in his basket. As he made his way out, humming a soft tune under his breath – pout still on his lips, he bumped against someone and if it weren’t for the arm around his waist, he probably would’ve tripped over nothing. 

“Sorry!” The person squeaked. San instantly recognized Wooyoung’s voice and smiled, balancing the basket between his torso and his arm. 

“Hi,” he chuckled, stepping away from him, “sorry, I was just on my way to the laundry, didn’t notice you there.” 

Wooyoung’s eyes widened and his lips lifted in a big smile, “oh, my God, I swear if I had to keep washing the same t-shirt in the shower for another day, I’d go crazy. Can we do our laundry, _please?_ ” 

San barked out a laugh, “of course, bring what you have, I just have to get everyone else’s basket.” 

After visiting all rooms, San stood outside Wooyoung’s door, his basket full of clothes as he waited for the man to come out. Suddenly, the door opened and Wooyoung stepped out, arms filled with clothes he didn’t recognize. 

“We don’t have much but these actually fit us,” the shorter boy chuckled, dumping the clothes inside the basket. 

San just smiled, admiring the boy's beauty for a second, not wanting to stare for too long. 

“I can show you where it is?” 

Wooyoung breathed out in relief, nodding, “please.” 

“Don’t get too excited, you’ll have to handwash your clothes,” San chuckled at the pout on Wooyoung’s lips, “stop pouting, how do you usually do your laundry?” 

The shorter of the two sent him a soft glare. "Seonghwa-hyung did it for us, erm, well, me, now and then.” 

Chuckling, San bumped a shoulder against Wooyoung, almost melting at the pout on his face before he added, “worry not, for, San, The Mapper will teach you all the tricks and ways of doing laundry.” 

Wooyoung grinned, knocking their shoulder’s together again. 

As they walked past the main deck, San glanced at the mess outside, laughing at the sight of his friends. 

Jongho had Mingi in a chokehold, ignoring his pleas and next to them was Yeosang and Yunho. The prince was hunched over, laughing with one hand on his stomach and San wasn’t sure if the redness on his face was because of the laughing or something else. 

Yunho stifled his chuckles as he retied the fishing nets, leaning against the railings of the ship with a smile, “spare him, Jongie.” 

The younger glared at Yunho, finally dropping Mingi as the latter coughed, wheezing for a breath. Without a glance, Jongho walked past him and sat beside Yeosang, in front of Yunho with an audible _humph,_ sulking. 

Yeosang nearly cooed at the sight but allowed himself to pat Jongho’s head with a soft smile, “there, there.” 

When Mingi saw the blush covering Jongho’s cheeks (again!), he nearly broke down laughing once more and if it weren’t for Yunho slapping his arm and motioning him to be quiet, he’d have another bruise from Jongho’s fists. Reluctant, he moved to the chair next to Yunho, placing a knee against his chest. 

“What’s up with your friend, by the way? Seonghwa, I mean.” 

Yeosang turned to Mingi, raising his eyebrow at the question. Yunho immediately sensed the change in Yeosang’s mood and was ready to cut in, hand on Mingi’s shoulder before the prince replied, “what’s wrong with _your_ Captain?” 

In mere seconds, Jongho had leaned back and away from Yeosang’s hand that had fallen onto his shoulder, and just like the prince, Jongho put up his walls, heavily protected by his glare. Yunho felt Mingi tense up under his hand and this time, he really did intervene, “nothing’s wrong with our Captain.” 

“Your friend was the one being all sceptical and mysterious!” 

“Mingi!” 

The prince glared harder, fists clenched up at his side, “your Captain called him a witch!” 

Mingi didn’t say anything back. The air around the four seemed to thicken as the seconds went by, the men finally realizing the weight of their words on each other. Whilst Mingi continued staring at Yeosang, the two locked in a staring contest to see who would back down first, Yunho squeezed the other’s shoulder and only received a short glance. However, the look the boy sent him was enough to make Mingi back down immediately. 

“Hongjoong-hyung is just very protective over us,” Jongho broke the silence. The two tallest shared another look – they do that a lot, communicate through glances, that is. Sighing, Jongho said, “it doesn’t excuse what he said, but try to understand.” 

Another moment of silence had Yeosang eyeing the youngest intensely. 

Jongho had his hands on his lap, fingers locked together tightly as were his eyes, glued to his feet as he spoke about Hongjoong. A single once over at the other two men present confirmed his thoughts.

Yunho had averted his gaze to the side, jaw locked in place and body rigid against the railings as he gripped Mingi’s shoulder. A hand was placed over his, Mingi’s slightly longer hand covering Yunho’s as his left arm held his leg tightly, look focused to the side, just like Yunho. 

The prince noticed right away, that Hongjoong wasn’t just their Captain. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so sorry it took so longggg but lmao I did some research and I know less than I thought I did

“We’re having chicken for dinner?” Yeosang asked, confusion on his face. 

The same group that was hours ago, chatting about on the main deck, were now on their way to the dining room after being called by the Captain, now joined by Wooyoung. 

“Yup!” Yunho nodded with a grin, throwing an arm over Mingi’s shoulders. The latter easily wrapped a long arm around his tiny waist and yawned, rubbing his eye with his free hand. Yeosang watched the interaction from the side, eyeing the two tallest dorks before he snorted, noticing the blush painted over Yunho’s cheeks – one which Mingi didn’t notice (yet again). 

“I thought pirates only ate fish,” Wooyoung muttered under his breath. Mingi chuckled but shook his head anyways. 

“We usually eat fish.” 

Yunho quickly said, “but we ran out.” 

“And we’re not pirates,” Jongho added. 

The newest members shared a glance. Yeosang turned to Jongho with a raised eyebrow, “how are you not pirates?” 

“And how do you run out of fish, when you’re in a ship in the middle of the ocean?” Wooyoung gaped, “wait, how do you have chicken?” 

“Pirates steal and hurt people,” the tallest member of the group sighed. He pulled away from Mingi’s arm to open the door and let the others through, waving hello at both Hongjoong and San who were already in the dining room before he continued his explanation, “they’re known to always rob and take ships from other crews and for doing bad stuff.” 

“Exactly,” Mingi agreed, going straight to his spot on the table. He shrugged, “we don’t do that.” 

At that, Yeosang scoffed, “there’s literally a weapon in every corner of this ship.” 

Hongjoong and San, who only caught that bit of the conversation, shared a glance and the mapper sighed, placing the pots of food on the table. Hongjoong eyed the group once, frowning internally at the lack of Seonghwa in the room, but sat down at the head of the table anyways. 

“We don’t hurt others unless they hurt us,” Jongho voiced. The youngest held the plates in one hand and an empty plate on the other, stretching his hand as San served them, one by one. 

With a hum, Yunho nodded and got his plate, sitting down besides Mingi. He put an arm around the back of his chair and leaned slightly onto the other, “we protect each other.” 

Wooyoung hummed, thanking San for the plate and soon enough, all seven of them were sat down and eating in silence, exchanging quiet pleasantries as they enjoyed the food. Beside Mingi was an empty chair for Seonghwa, in case the mage decided to join them at all. During the small moment of quiet, Yeosang cleared his throat, “if you’re not pirates, then what are you?” 

San rolled his eyes, taking a bite of his food, “hungry as fuck. Do you always ask these many questions?” 

Everyone laughed at the comment, even Wooyoung, who leaned against his blushing friend and slapped his shoulder once. Without realizing it, Yeosang started pouting, but remained quiet, eating his food and earning an equal pout from Wooyoung. 

“Aw, Yeosangie, it’s okay," he patted his head. 

They kept the comfortable chatter as they ate, just sharing whatever came to mind first and as the talking went on, Yeosang found himself relaxing more and more, adding more than just a few meaningless comments to the conversation. 

It was only minutes later that the door creaked open, and had it not been for Hongjoong who was facing the door, no one would’ve noticed. 

Hongjoong’s eyes widen at the sight of the mage. 

Since the first night the three had joined them, Seonghwa hadn’t sat down for dinner with them. Every night when either Hongjoong or Yunho called them for dinner, Wooyoung told them how Seonghwa preferred to stay by himself a while longer and not to worry, he’d take a plate to him after dinner. After the fourth night, they’d stopped asking for Seonghwa to join and just left an open spot for him, in case he decided to join. 

Clearly, no one was expecting him to do it any time soon. 

“Seonghwa-hyung,” Yeosang said, shock laced in his tone. 

Quietly, Seonghwa walked to his seat, eyes pointed down as he sat and before he could reach over to serve himself, San had already taken his plate and done it first. The mage whispered _thank you,_ grateful smile over his lips and started eating, ignoring the silence he brought over the table. 

Though, it wasn’t long ‘till San broke the heaviness around the room, “this silence either means the food sucks and you’re being polite or the chicken’s just fucking amazing, but I can’t tell which is it.” 

A round of laughter followed. Mingi snorted, “you wish.” 

“Yah! I cooked the chicken,” Hongjoong was quiet to say, threatening smile already in display. 

Jongho faked a disapproving look, straightening his back and picking at his food, “I can see that.” 

Another round of laughter, and this time, Hongjoong noticed the tiniest lift on Seonghwa’s lips as he threw a napkin at Jongho. 

Later that night, once dinner was done and the room was cleared, everyone returned to their rooms and just like the previous night, Hongjoong situated his chair just by the stairs, with a clear view of the exit to the deck. 

Moments later, Hongjoong heard the softness of Seonghwa’s footsteps and, Seonghwa stepped out. 

This time, he was wearing a hoodie over a pair of sweatpants which were Jongho’s and his hands were tucked in his pockets, making him look twice as tall. The Captain said nothing as the mage grabbed the same chair from the night before and walked towards him, settling just a tad closer than yesterday, face still closed off and eyes trained on the ground.

Just like last night, the only sound being heard over the sounds of the waves, was Hongjoong’s hands carving pretty nothings against the handle of his other knife. 

Hongjoong froze when Seonghwa finally looked up. 

“Where are we headed?” 

He didn’t reply for a while, thinking his answer through before his hands returned to their actions, “why do you want to know?” 

Suddenly, Seonghwa’s look sharpened and he narrowed his eyes, “dodging my question makes me think you’re on your way to turn us in.” 

Ah, of course. 

For a second, Hongjoong forgot that Seonghwa wasn’t totally on board with the idea of rooming with them. At least, not like Wooyoung and Yeosang were. The mage was still constantly on edge and pulling back from any peaceful approach. 

Regardless, Hongjoong smirked, “in that case, I suggest you start being nice to me,” he winked at him. 

Seonghwa scoffed, facing to the side with soft pink over his cheeks. 

They spent, maybe another five minutes in silence, before Seonghwa spoke again, “are you turning us in?” 

Something in the way Seonghwa asked that made Hongjoong pause. 

Seonghwa wasn’t looking at him, but Hongjoong saw the shine on his eyes. His voice just now was way softer than Hongjoong’s ever heard it and Hongjoong didn’t need to know Seonghwa to realize, how scared the other was. 

“No.” 

The mage looked at him and yup, Hongjoong was right. 

He proceeded, “unless you want to be turned in, then, no.” 

“So, you’re letting us stay?” 

That, Hongjoong wasn’t sure. 

He’d only known them for a week. Regardless of how much his friends had warmed up to the strangers, he still liked to keep one hand on the wheel, considering all options and trying to grab all points of view before making a final decision. So, instead, he hummed, raising a shoulder and tilting his head slightly. 

Seonghwa didn’t question him any further, nodding once to himself. 

The two merely sat in each other's presence, listening to the sounds around them until Seonghwa stood from his chair, briefly stopping at Hongjoong’s side. The Captain could almost hear the gears turning in his head, debating whether or not to say something before Seonghwa gave him a curt nod and made his way back inside. 

And since last night, things were just a little bit different. 

This morning, Seonghwa came out of his room, and although he didn’t speak much (or at all, Hongjoong wasn’t sure), he still smiled faintly and nodded along to the conversations around him. He did stick to Yeosang's side at all morning, too, probably avoiding the mess that is Woosan already and no one could blame him. 

Today was supposed to be cleaning day, given that the last time they cleaned Aurora was before the trio joined them, and no one did, in fact, sweep the floors. So, right after lunch, everyone was given a task, chosen at random by the glorious game of rock, paper, scissors. 

Mingi and San were in charge of the common rooms – kitchen, dining room and the cargo, and whilst Wooyoung and Yunho volunteered to dust the mast, sails and everything around it. Jongho, Yeosang and, surprisingly, Seonghwa, were assigned to the cannons and weapons around the ship, mainly making sure they were still intact and not as rusty as they could get. 

Which left Hongjoong with the boring, tiring job of sweeping and then mopping the main deck. But again, things were a little bit different since last night. 

Still, Hongjoong didn’t expect to see Seonghwa suddenly walk towards him, biceps exposed in all their glory from the sleeveless top San lent him. The Captain only raised an eyebrow once the man stopped beside him, “what’re doing here?” 

Seonghwa shrugged, “running from your son’s terrible flirting and my horrible friend.” 

To say that Hongjoong was taken aback by the casual response was an understatement. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds. 

“Uh, what?” 

“Jongho and Yeosang?” Seonghwa deadpanned, and Hongjoong snapped out of his daze, taking in the amusement on the other’s face. 

With a scoff, Hongjoong resumes his sweeping, “tell me about it. And Wooyoung and San?” 

“They’re so much worse than Mingi and Yunho!” 

Hongjoong laughed, nodding. He paused, leaning against the broom as he looked up at the mage, “you wouldn’t believe how long two people can dance around each other if not for those two.” 

The mage let out a laugh and Hongjoong was embarrassed to say that, it was probably the prettiest laugh he’s ever heard before. God, he hates himself for even thinking that, but as his eyes moved across his face and down his body, Hongjoong was forced to return his stare to the floor. 

“Well, since you’re doing absolutely nothing,” he continued when Seonghwa’s laughter died down. He walked back towards the bow where he had placed the mop and handed it to Seonghwa, a teasing grin on his lips, “you can start mopping!” 

He thought he’d have to do a lot more convincing that just handing him the mop, but the mage surprised him, once again, and just nodded, the edge of his lips tilted upwards slightly as he started at the bow. 

They worked in silence, Hongjoong resuming the sweeping as Seonghwa hummed under his breath. It wasn’t long until the mage had caught up to Hongjoong, meeting the Captain a little past the middle of the main deck with his mop and hand placed at the hip. He sighed and rolled his eyes, speaking in a dramatic tone, “must you take so long?” 

Hongjoong gaped, speechless for a minute. 

“Yah, you try sweeping then!” He exclaimed, stretching the broom towards him. 

The taller eyed him with disbelief over his face before waving his hand. 

With his pointer finger out, a cloud of gold wrapped itself around his left hand, this time and trailed towards the broom slowly. In a matter of moments, Hongjoong was standing beside the mage, stunned as he watched his wooden broom sweep across the floor easily. He glanced at Seonghwa, revelling the soft smile on his lips and appreciating the details of his beauty when a sudden call got his attention. 

“Captain!” Hongjoong glanced up, using his hand to shield the sun from his eyes and he met Yunho’s concern from the topsail, “there’s a ship.” 

Hongjoong felt his stomach drop. 

“Shit,” he mumbled. “Give me more, Yunho,” he called back. 

The tallest only walked around Wooyoung, reaching for his telescope and he groaned, looking back down at Hongjoong, “I’ve never seen them, but there’s about fifty or so, of them. Their ship seems new though, I can’t tell where they’re coming from.” 

His mind started racing, words already pouring out of his mouth with orders, “I want you to stay there and see if you can get a better look until I get Mingi, then go double-check if the safes are locked and shut properly.” 

Once Yunho nodded, confirming the order, his body reacted instantly. He dropped the broom against the railings, jogging inside the ship and first made his way to the dining room. As soon as he barged through the door, the two members winced, turning to him in alarm. 

“We have incoming,” he said. First, he turned to Mingi, “I want eyes on their ship, Mingi, trade places with Yunho at the nest and take your gun, they’re too many and we’ll need backup from the top. Just tried to stay hidden as much as possible.” 

“Yes, Captain,” and he was already walking out, seriousness over his face. 

Hongjoong then turned to San, “I want you to stay at the helm until I get back up. Take your sword with you and keep eyes on the main deck, we don’t want any incidents.” 

“On it.” 

The two moved, Hongjoong going down the ladder whilst San headed out. 

The sound of Hongjoong’s feet hitting the wood startled the two males by the cannons and Jongho tensed the moment he saw the Captain’s face, “what happened?” 

“There’s about fifty of them on a ship,” Hongjoong started. He ignored Yeosang’s wide eyes. “I’ll need you at the cannons, if they start shooting, then so do we. If not, I’d rather have you up with us.” 

“And the others?” Jongho asked. He dropped the rags and dusters at the corner, already reaching for powder with careful hands. 

“Mingi is likely situated up top by now, I have San behind the helm and Yunho is doing a run through the ship.” Hongjoong grabbed another bag of powder and threw it at the younger. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Yeosang hesitating to grab a bag too, but the Captain moved first. 

“I have this area secured,” Jongho pushed the powder into the first cannon, “we should send those three to the quarters, it’d be safer there.” 

At the mention of their presence, Yeosang perked up and shook his head, “no, we can help! Seonghwa can move stuff and I can fence.” 

The member exchanged a glance and Hongjoong sighed when Jongho shrugged. 

“Holler for help,” Hongjoong squeezed Jongho’s shoulder. He nodded his head at Yeosang, telling him to follow his lead and the Captain moved to the other side of the room, opening a long box on the table. Inside, were two neatly placed sabres, one with a golden handle and more curved at the tip, whereas the other was completely straight, with silver linings around the handle. 

With a gulp, the prince took a look at the Captain’s expectant posture and decided to go for what he was used to, the silver sabre. 

“Nice choice,” the Captain commented under his breath. He led the man towards the main deck, “stay back and only attack when needed. We never show ourselves first and if Mingi gives the signal, then we move and strike,” Hongjoong pulled himself up and offered him a hand, pulling the other after him. “Focus on keeping everyone safe.” 

“Who’s gonna keep me safe?” Yeosang yelped out when they stepped outside, the wind nearly knocking him back, added to the speed in which Aurora was sailing with. 

“Everyone keeps everyone safe,” the Captain replied. 

Mingi was already settled perfectly at the top, hidden save only for his brown locks and the tip of his rifle, whilst San was steadily shifting the helm when needed, biceps bulging to keep it steady. Hongjoong saw Seonghwa hold onto Wooyoung’s hand, the other already rubbing his arm in a comforting manner and shit, Hongjoong had completely forgotten about them. 

Before he knew it, Yeosang was next to them, too. The prince had an arm wrapped around Wooyoung’s waist tightly and If Hongjoong didn’t know better, he’d think they were in love or something. The trio exchanged a few words before turning to stand next to Hongjoong. 

“What do we do now?” Yeosang breaths out. 

Right on cue, Yunho comes out, panting slightly, “I moved the maps and everything to the vault, locked it and then locked the door after that, so everything’s locked and... locked.” 

“Alright, good,” Hongjoong nodded. His hands felt up his hips, checking for the two small guns that usually rest there before moving to his thighs, holding a breath of relief when his two knives make contact with his fingers, “we don’t know who they are, so we don’t know if they’re going to attack, to begin with.” 

“They tend to, though,” Yunho sighs and watches Yeosang with a raised eyebrow, “you’re not in your rooms?” 

Seonghwa knew he didn’t mean it in a bad way, probably even spoke out of worry, but the mage couldn’t help but feel mildly offended at the question, crossing his arms over his chest, “why would we hide?” 

Hesitantly, Yunho glanced between the three of them, then at Hongjoong. He ducked his head slightly, like as if he were sharing a secret. 

“You’re a prince on the run, wouldn’t they be looking for you?” 

Realization dawns upon them and immediately, Seonghwa backed out, body tensing at the news inside Yeosang's face hardens at the thought and he, subconsciously, tightens his hold around Wooyoung's waist. The other winces at the tightness and rubs his arm in return, face twisting in worry to pull away from the other slightly. 

“It might not be them, Yeosangie, calm down,” Wooyoung muttered to him and turned to face the crew members, “and if it is, we could recognize them, maybe.” 

Hongjoong hummed. He rubbed the back of his neck, mind whirling with what he should do before he glanced at the unknown ship, inching closer to them slightly. With a sigh, Hongjoong examined his surroundings and nodded. 

“No,” he finally spoke. The four of them, surprised, looked at the Captain who only sounded more determined as he continued, “if they recognize you, they might attack. Unless you want to go back to ‘em?” 

The prince furiously shook his head. 

“But there’re fifty of them,” Seonghwa intervened, “if they attack, you’re done for.” 

At that, Yunho stifled out a laugh, “we’ve dealt with more in worse conditions.” 

The Captain hummed in affirmation. 

Just then, San approaches the group. His hands were slightly dark, probably from the oil and the mapper rubbed them on his pants, “I think they’re turning, Cap. What do I do?” 

If they’re turning, then they’re not intending to just sail past them. Provided that they _are_ actually royalty and looking for those three, then they might want to search the ship, make sure they’re not within Aurora (Hongjoong would definitely not let that happen). Unless they are not looking for those three and just want to attack. 

Either way, Hongjoong doesn’t see this ending in a nicely. 

Alternatively, he could give in the three men, feign naivety and then move on with his life. Really, he could. They haven't been with them for long enough for Hongjoong to risk everything, just to keep them safe. Logically, if giving them up was the easy safe way out, then he’d have to choose it over anything else. He needed to ensure that his family would be safe through and through. 

“No,” he said instead. All eyes fell on him, “slow us down, if they’re looking for the Prince then we’ll make sure they don’t find him,” the Captain fixed Yeosang with a stare, “you go back inside the quarters and don’t come out. They can’t enter the ship unless we let them in, so you’ll be safe there.” 

This is really the opposite of what he should be doing, of what he _usually d_ id, but he can’t find it upon himself to send Yeosang back to a kingdom he seems to hate or make Wooyoung go back to his job (he could only guess it wasn’t all that nice). Least of all, give Seonghwa back to the dangerous lands, where he knew they wouldn’t be so kind as to receive the mage back with open arms – the very opposite, if he remembered a thing or two from the few trips to land, they often made. 

Hongjoong ignored the glint in San’s eyes after he gave his order, and pretended not to see the victory smile spreading across Yunho’s lips, to direct his attention towards Mingi, relaying the information. 

When he turned back, the trio was already gone and San had moved behind the helm once more, leaving only Yunho with a knowing look written over his puppy-like features. The Captain rolled his eyes, walking past him and inside the ship towards his quarters but the latter followed him in, a grin on his face. 

“We’re keeping them?” Yunho couldn’t keep the excitement off his voice. 

Hongjoong didn’t reply until he was inside his room, retrieving his Dao from its place, sliding the sheath off before he turned to his friend, “until further notice, yes.” 

That was a lie, and Yunho knew it, too. He tried to suppress the grin but ended up with his lips turned up and teeth showing, barely walking properly with the energy bouncing off his legs. The tension on Hongjoong’s shoulder loosened just enough for the man to show a tiny smile, shaking his head at his happiness. 

Minutes later, Aurora was just inches behind the foreign ship but Hongjoong placed himself right at the front, sitting at the bowsprit of Aurora with his sword in his right hand, handgun on the other and knives in place, two of them attached to his hip with one hidden at his ankle. 

The other ship seemed to slow down as well, basing their speed on their sails and Hongjoong had to hold back a laugh when seeing the other crew. 

They were definitely royalty. 

Whilst Hongjoong had his crew dressed in refreshing clothes and protected by their own choice of weapons, the people in front of him were sweating from the ridiculous white uniforms they were likely forced to wear. He examined how every man had a long sword pressed tightly to their waists and his eye noticed how every single one of their men was scattered around the main deck, leaving a scrawny boy by the helm and no one at the crow nest. 

_Perhaps,_ Hongjoong thought, it _would be_ _easier than usual._

Hongjoong did a little rundown before interacting with the strangers. 

He knew he had Mingi to cover him from the top, the younger was always the cover and he always did his best. He had Jongho for the heavy fire and if needed, the youngest would join the fight on deck. Yunho was waiting patiently with a Katana in hand, and by his side, San held his Nagamaki tightly, dagger on his other hand. 

There wasn’t a sight of the three wanted men, so Hongjoong put on his game face, confidence radiating as he turned to what it seemed to be the captain of the other ship. 

He didn’t have to say anything, the Captain had already started talking, the white megaphone with gold surrounding its edges amplifying his voice. 

“Greetings from the KQ Kingdom!” 

Hongjoong chuckled. He raised his left hand, signalling a short wave and tilted his head to the right, attempting a smile and the other captain hesitated, but continued, nonetheless. 

“Days ago, the Kang Family lost their firstborn and the heir to the throne, Kang Yeosang. The Prince is currently lost at sea and anyone who’s heard or seen His Royal Highness, Prince of KQ, is to report to the Queen and King, immediately.” 

By now, both ships were sailing side to side, so Hongjoong stood up, making his way towards the centre of his ship and got closer to the edge, taking out his megaphone from its hook on the railing. 

“We don’t have your Prince but we’ll be glad to do so if it comes to it,” he said in return. Regardless of his words, Hongjoong stood straight, hand firmly on his Dao with the megaphone on the other. 

He saw a short man approach the other Captain and even though no one besides their crew would hear it, the man still leaned in to whisper to his Captain. 

“Hyung,” Hongjoong turned to San, who placed a hand on his shoulder. The mapper turned his back to the other ship and with his eyes, motioned towards the scrawny wooden boat the trio had earlier arrived in, “they noticed their boat.” 

_Shit._

With a straight face, Hongjoong merely nodded, softly nudging the other back and he watched as the other captain rolled his shoulders. 

The air surrounding the two ships was tense, neither sides making a move as they waited for their Captain’s order. 

For a minute, Hongjoong though they’d just pass by and accept the flimsy response he’d provided, things were never that easy for the redhead. 

He saw the right-hand man raise his gun, aiming directly at Hongjoong with precision and the captain beside him raised the megaphone to his mouth, “return the Prince and no harm shall come to you and your crew.” 

Hongjoong chuckled. _Yeah, right._ He dropped the megaphone back in its place, pushing the box back against the wall, and although his following actions were certainly not nice, he just could help himself. He raised his hand, middle finger directed at the other crew and had it not been for San, pushing the Captain out of reach, the bullet they fired his way might’ve hit his ribs. 

In less than seconds, the same man that shot the redhead was lying on the ground, blood staining the wood below him as Mingi readied his gun for another shot. 

Just like that, both sides got to moving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a comment!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They fight and not everyone makes it unharmed...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to do so much research that I'm sure I can like stitch a gunshot wound at this point ksdjfladjh

Their crew was the first to move. If they were going to fight, they were going to win and make sure to benefit from said win, too. 

“San, shoot the ropes, we need to get on their ship,” he yelled. He jogged towards the corner of Aurora, grabbing the crossbow from the box of weapons, “Yunho, I want you to get Jongho, they don’t seem to have cannons, so we’ll only use ours to destroy the ship after we raid it.” 

The two got to moving and Hongjoong stood by the railings, ducked to protect himself from the constant shooting coming from the other side. He saw San crouching the same way he did, waiting for a break to make his shot. 

“Mingi, we need cover,” the mapper shouted. 

In return, Mingi’s rifle was heard, one shot after the other until the sounds stopped altogether and when he peeked his head to look at their enemy, Hongjoong saw most men without their guns but a great deal of them were preparing their own ropes, arming their catapults to invade Aurora. 

Once it was clear that he wouldn’t get a hit to the head, Hongjoong aimed his crossbow, pressing the trigger as he exhaled and the arrow shoots straight ahead, Hongjoong watching as the hook at the head of the arrow wrapped around one of the metal railings of the fancy ship. He glanced to his right, already seeing San slide through the space between them with confidence, left hand raised to shoot at anything who got too close to his rope. 

With a few strong tugs, Hongjoong tied his end of the rope onto Aurora. 

It was only seconds later that Hongjoong was climbing onto the main deck of the ship, dodging a punch aimed at his face. He threw one back, ignoring the pain on his knuckles when the other man fell back with the force and another loud _bang_ was heard. He didn’t feel any pain anywhere, so he guessed the shot wasn't aimed at him, however, he still looked back, examining his surroundings and grinned at Mingi upon seeing another man, dressed in a red-stained white suit, lying motionless on the ground. 

From there, both he and San tried to hold off as many men as they could until a hand patted his shoulder – Jongho, signalling that he had his back, and he heard Yunho confirm their presence from the other side of the ship. 

And just like that, the four of them let their instincts take over, undeniably leaving bodies behind as they received slower and fewer jabs at them. 

“Shit, duck,” Hongjoong eyed the boy approaching them with a sledgehammer. 

“No, jump,” Jongho yelped back. 

“Fuck, okay, jump!” 

The pair jumped, avoiding the whip that slid under their feet as Hongjoong raised his Dao, right hand pressing the trigger three times into the boy’s stomach. He only had time to protect his left side, pushing against Jongho, hopefully forcing the younger out of the harm’s way and waited for impact. 

Only it never came. 

The Captain exhaled in relief when he heard San’s deep _hah!_ and his leg came to view, easily kicking the hammer away from both their heads. 

“Thanks,” he sighed out. 

Hongjoong glanced around him, relief coursing through his body again, seeing nobody but his crew standing beside him, unharmed except for the few cuts and stains of blood (which, probably weren’t theirs) scattered on them. 

“The outside is clear, Mingi has eyes on the whole thing,” San panted, supporting Jongho with an arm around the waist, “Yunho is checking the bodies.” 

Nodding, Hongjoong took a moment to catch his breath. He turned his attention to Mingi, forming a circle with his thumb and index finger, and the latter returned the movement, indicating that everything was fine. 

“Right,” Hongjoong started, clearing his throat. “We should go check the quarters, look for freshwater especially, and meet here in five minutes, we don’t wanna stay too long.” 

“I’ll get the line ready,” San added. 

With a hand hovering over his knife, Dao on the other, Hongjoong made his way to the door and looked over his shoulder. On his right, Yunho had his Katana ready and Jongho, with a whip he hadn’t seen before, on his left hand as he waited for San to get back down from the crow's nest. As both men nodded, Hongjoong pushed the door opened. 

They inspected the inside of the ship as well as they could, going in rooms and taking a few gold items they could trade at the market later. At one point, Yunho even lifted a folder from under one of the boxes placed at the corner of the room, laughing at the naked woman displayed at the front, only to groan in disgust when he saw... _things_ that clearly were not part of the original photos. 

They ended up where Hongjoong could only guess was the captain’s quarters, the room having more space than all the others. The large desk placed right at the middle of the room was neatly organized, papers tidied up all on one side and a thick journal decorating the other. Behind the desk was a shelf and Hongjoong moved there first, inspecting the glass bottles for anything remotely worth saving. 

“Yo, hyung, look at this.” 

Over the desk, Yunho had spread out some of the papers under the journal and Hongjoong had to nearly squint to try and comprehend the handwriting before he gave up. 

“I don’t understand shit.” 

Yunho chuckled, “it says a bunch of stuff from that KQ kingdom and their rules. This thing has the list of men enlisted for their army or something, there’re like, fifty dudes named _Kim_ in this stupid thing.” 

Hongjoong suddenly felt the weight of the battle on his chest, the heaviness of his actions getting heavier as he looked over the pages, saw the faces messily drawn on the book and he tried to ignore the little description of their lives at the very bottom of every profile, gulping. 

They could fight and defend themselves just fine out there, but for a group as big as this one, especially when it was only five of them fighting, they couldn’t leave any room for mistakes or second chances. The moment someone came at you, they either got the best of you or you got them instead. That way, they didn’t risk losing a life because of a soldier who was too brave to stand down.

Really, it was a matter of safety for all of them. 

But that didn’t stop Hongjoong from feeling like a murderous monster every time it happened. Yeah, they were always attacked first, and sure, death was definitely something way too common during those times, so, almost nobody batted an eye at a sinking ship or another day-to-day sacrifice, but Hongjoong didn’t have to like it. 

Heck, some of these men probably had a partner or children back home, or worse, boys who joined to serve their kingdom and now, because of ~~them~~ him, wouldn’t live another day to even start a family of their own. 

A hand came to rest at his shoulder, squeezing it in reassurance, “it was either us or them, hyung. Don’t let it get to you,” the taller said. 

“Us or them,” the Captain mumbled to himself, sighing. 

“Us or them,” Yunho echoed. This time, he pulled his Captain into a hug, tightening his hold only for a second before sending a smile his way, relieved to receive one back. 

Hongjoong took another look at the table, closing the journal before tucking it under his arm and his eyes fell on the papers under it. 

The first paper had Yeosang’s face on it. 

Yeosang looked... like a prince. His blonde hair was perfectly styled back, exposing his spotless forehead and, although the picture was black and white, the colour on his eyes was definitely not the brown he knew the prince owned. His lips were closed into a tight line and the crown on his head looked heavy, the small details of the jewels grabbing anyone’s attention with one look. 

“Damn...” Yunho whistled. 

Under the picture was the prince’s full name, bold letters staring back at Hongjoong and his eyes widened when he noticed the large sum of gold being offered as a reward. 

“Damn, is right,” Hongjoong nodded. 

The moment the door opened widely, Hongjoong threw his knife at the intruder. However, the yelp San let out made Hongjoong gasp in shock and the mapper, thank god for his reflexes, swung the door back enough to protect his friends from his attack. 

“Sorry!” 

Jongho ducked his head out, eyes wide as he took the knife from the door with a bit of force. San glared at his Captain, placing a hand over his chest. 

“We’ve got some good stuff for the market and more ammo.” 

“And some gauzes, San-hyung got himself shot,” Jongho rolled his eyes. 

At the mention of his friend being injured, Hongjoong immediately dropped the foreign journal and made his way to the mapper, eyes scanning his body for any sign of the injury, “you got shot?” 

San showed his left thigh, ripping the fabric slightly more to show the graze, “it barely touched me.” 

That was a lie. Had the unfortunate man who shot the gun aimed a little to the left, Hongjoong would’ve had to operate his friend once more. 

Hongjoong frowned at the sight. There was a piece of his pants stuck to the wound and if Hongjoong wasn’t used to this image, he would've cringed in disgust. With a hum, he shook his head and frowned even more, “you’ll need stitches for that, Sannie... Can you climb the mast easily? Jongho can help you up.” 

“Shit...” San breathes out, already anticipating the pain but he shook his head, “no, I can climb fine, just won’t use my leg.” 

“Good, let’s get out of here then, we need to ball the ship down and clean you up as soon as possible,” Hongjoong cleared his throat. He grabbed the reward paper and tucked it inside the journal. He motioned the three men out of the quarters but sidled up beside San, swinging his arm over his shoulder, “Jongho, go first with San, get the cannons ready and we’ll see what he gathered back at Aurora.” 

“What’s happening?” 

Mingi glances up from his gun, looking at a very tense Seonghwa. He placed his rifle on the wall between him and the empty chair and raised his eyebrows, cocking his head to the side. 

“What're you referring to, hyung?” Mingi asked, eyeing the way the elder winced when another _bang_ was heard. He chuckled, waving his hand when Seonghwa gave him a look, clearly talking about the noise of the cannons. “Jongho is taking down their ship.” 

The mage’s eyes widened, “taking down their ship?” 

“Yeah,” Mingi shrugged. “We got what we needed and we can’t leave it sailing alone, so, we’re sinking it. The _bang-bang_ you keep hearing is Jongho firing our cannons.” 

“What about the men in it?” 

Mingi watched as Seonghwa’s expression changed the more he spoke, “we took care of them.” 

His eyes widened. 

“You killed them?” It’s almost impossible, but Seonghwa eyes him in disbelief, lips dropping open and Mingi can’t tell if it's because of shock, or something he didn’t even want to think of. 

Mingi sighed, rolling his shoulders as he tried to find a way to explain it to him. 

“Seonghwa-hyung,” he started. The elder paused, eyes still wide but mouth closed shut, and Mingi took it as a sign to continue, “we either finished them off, or they’d run back to their land, and next thing you know, we’d be wanted for being _pirates,_ which we are certainly not. If not for being pirates, then for kidnapping the prince. We didn’t exactly have a choice.” 

At that, Seonghwa let his eyes wander off his, gulping whatever feeling Mingi couldn’t decipher and after a few seconds, he spoke, “did anyone get hurt?” 

He was a little surprised at the question. Mingi raised his eyebrow at him but nodded curtly. He saw immediate regret surround the other and rushed to reassure the other. 

“It was just a graze,” he chuckled, pointing at the door they were standing by with his thumb, “Sannie’s dealt with far worse, though, don’t worry. Hongjoong-hyung is patching him up right now as we speak. Think a couple of stitches would do the job!” 

However, that only seemed to make things worse. Seonghwa’s wide eyes returned, “he needs stitches?!” 

“It’s really nothing, hyung,” Mingi sighed once more. He leaned his head against the wall behind him and gulped, “sure, it fucking sucks and we hate it every time someone gets hurt, but we learned enough to know how to take care of it. Doesn’t matter what’s happened but it’s never serious. We promised to never do that to each other.” 

The brunette patted the spot beside him. Hesitantly, Seonghwa sat but rested his elbows on his knees, looking to be in deep thought, almost like as if he wanted to ask a million questions but didn’t have the words to. So, Mingi took it upon himself to try and cross some of those out. 

“Hyung,” his tone was softer this time. “You guys are our friends now. Sure, you’ve only been here like two weeks or something,” he shrugged, “but you don’t need to worry. We’re not heartless enough to send you back to a place where it’s clear you don’t want to be in. Or... well, I don’t actually know but I’m guessing you don’t want to go back, right?” 

The elder couldn’t help but let a smile slip on his lips at the cuteness. He shook his head in response, though and Mingi brightened, suddenly looking more confident with his words. 

“Okay, that’s good! Which means you’re our friends now and we help each other out. So, if some bitch comes after our friends, obviously, we’re gonna defend you guys.” 

“Mingi-yah...” Seonghwa let out a nervous sound. He glanced at the grin on the other’s face, “how- why would you help random strangers when you don’t even know them? It would’ve been so much easier if you just gave us in. You could’ve gone your way, avoided killing all those people and you’d even get a reward, I bet. Why would you risk yourselves, for _us_?” 

“Kinda sounds like you want us to give you in, hyung,” Mingi scoffed but all jokes were pushed from his words. “Listen, Seonghwa-hyung,” he shifted to face the other slightly, “we don’t usually let in strangers in our home, we don’t usually help said strangers and let them roam in and about. Don’t get me wrong, if you give us any sign that you’re a threat to any of us, then yeah, we’ll start considering either throwing you out in the middle of the ocean or give you in. But you haven’t and honestly, I don’t think you will. It’s been a long time since we’ve met new trustworthy people, but unless you give us a reason to, we won’t do anything to hurt you. Regardless of everything, you guys are our friends now.” 

Seonghwa didn’t seem entirely convinced, but the words helped ease his mind, even if it was only a little bit. 

He sighed, nodding a little to himself and looked at Mingi, lips curled up in a thankful smile. The giant returned the gesture, wrapping an arm around his shoulder with a grin before pulling him into a hug, ripping a yelp from the elder who blushed at his sound, “yah!” 

“You should smile more, hyung,” he joked, letting go of him. 

Seonghwa threw a glare his way but ignored the comment, “anyways,” he exclaimed, clearing his throat, “how does your captain know how to fix a bullet wound? Did he have medical training?” 

This time, Mingi cackled, “of course not. He learnt it from the other times' someone got shot.” 

“What?” The elder exclaimed, “that’s- how are you people even alive?” 

Seonghwa stood up from his seat, walking around him but Mingi reached an arm out between Seonghwa and the door. 

“Whoa, hyung, despite what you may think of our Captain, he wouldn’t do anything to Sannie without knowing what he was doing,” the brunette said, amusement laced in his voice. 

The mage only raised an eyebrow at the man, “if it’s not healed properly, it could spread and your dear friend would die in seconds. I would know, I have medical training.” 

The brunette squints at the elder, considering all his options – also thinking of Hongjoong’s possible anger if he ends up letting Seonghwa in the room. Sure, they were all fond of the three pretty faces on Aurora, but even though their Captain let them in, no one could tell exactly just how much he allowed himself to share with Seonghwa and his friends. 

After a few seconds of thinking, a visible smirk appeared on Seonghwa’s face when Mingi glanced down, eyes masked in concern before sighing, standing up from his spot, too. 

Before he opened the door, he focused a threatening glare on Seonghwa’s eyes, putting all titles and honorifics aside as he spoke, “we protect ourselves, don’t forget that.” 

Seonghwa returned the intense stare, clenching his jaw but Mingi just shook his head slightly, breathing out. Turning around, he knocked on the door twice and cracked it open just enough for his head to slip through. 

From inside the room, Hongjoong looked up to see what the issue was, hands freezing above San’s wounds with a piece of white cloth in one hand with a bottle of clear liquid on the other. 

At the sight of the brunette, Hongjoong lifted an eyebrow, annoyance clear on his face as he waited for whatever Mingi wanted to say. In front of him, San had his face scrunched up in pain, hands gripping tight onto the sheets on Hongjoong’s bed with a belt in between his teeth. 

“Well?” The Captain growled out. 

Mingi chuckled nervously at the tone but cleared his throat, and Hongjoong could barely hold back the sigh. 

“Seonghwa says he can help,” and then he opened the door wider for the mage to slip through, closing it shut just as quickly to prevent any yelling which Hongjoong may throw his way. 

Hongjoong stared at the mage, mind still trying to process what’d just happened until he noticed Seonghwa squirm under his gaze, glaring at the Captain as he lifted his chin. Hongjoong instantly glared back, ready to tell the other to get out so he could treat his friend but San whimpered, still in pain. Just like that, the Captain’s attention was back on him, features softening. 

“Sorry, Sannie, almost there,” he muttered. 

The mapper let out a sharp inhaled, teeth biting onto the belt as soon as the vodka made contact with the wound. Luckily, the last pieces of cloth were removed and Hongjoong sighed out in relief, closing the bottle before throwing it somewhere on the bed. He ignored Seonghwa’s burning stare on him and stood up from the bed, retrieving the aiding kit from under it. 

Almost immediately, he had the needle and thread on his hands. 

“You don’t have the proper equipment?” 

Hongjoong only took a look at Seonghwa, surprised that the mage even spoke at all before replying, “they don’t really sell suturing materials on the markets for sailors.” 

Once everything was sterilized, Hongjoong sat down on the same spot, rubbing San’s sweaty forehead with a towel as the mapper spat the belt out to the side, eyes closed. 

“Is it done?” He mumbled out, using his elbows to look at the wound on his thigh. 

With an apologetic look, Hongjoong shook his head, “but this is the easy part, though.” 

San groaned, laying back down but keeping his eyes opened this time and when he turned his head to the side, he finally noticed Seonghwa. Surprise took over his face, “what’re you doing here?” 

Hongjoong snorted, “he thinks he can help,” and without a warning, he started doing his best at closing the wound. San groaned at the pain but it was nothing compared to a few seconds ago, so he didn’t need to bite into the belt to stifle the whimpers. 

Seonghwa was a little lost. 

He did want to help, he knew how to take care of people and even learned from Yeosang’s doctor how to do a bunch of things, but Hongjoong didn’t seem to want any support at all and Seonghwa didn’t think this idea through, because _of course_ , Hongjoong wouldn’t let him help, he didn’t even know him, to begin with. 

So, he stood at the side, watching as the Captain mended his mate’s wound until San waved him over. 

“Hyung, come over here and hold my hand,” he said through gritted teeth. 

And he did. 

Eventually, San’s grip on his hand lessened before there was none at all. At first, Seonghwa panicked, eyes frantically searching for any sign that he was alive. 

“Don’t worry, he just passed out.” Hongjoong calmed his worries. The mage then saw how the wound actually nicely treated. Six stitches were patching it closed, neatly cleaned and no blood on it, meaning that Hongjoong had done a good job. 

He cut the thread once he was sure everything was okay and cleaned the materials before stashing them back onto the kit. He took the medical gauze from the box, settling next to San’s leg before placing the bandages next to it and Seonghwa was taken aback when he spoke to him. 

“Could you lift his leg, please?” 

Took him a whole second to start moving, but he was proud that he did it without showing any hesitance, moving behind the captain to slowly and carefully, hold onto San’s calf and raise his leg off the bed. Hongjoong took the gauze and began wrapping his thigh with it when the mapper didn’t show any signs of pain and soon enough, he was wrapping the bandages in place too, securing the wound protectively. 

It was only minutes later that the two oldest were sat side by side on the bed, San knocked out unconscious behind them. 

Hongjoong slipped the aiding kit back under the bed and rolled his head, exhaling when his neck cracked. Next, his shoulders, bringing a wince out of Seonghwa when those cracked too and then Hongjoong looked at Seonghwa expectedly, perfect eyebrow arching at the other. 

“What?” The mage asked. 

“Why did you want to help?” 

Seonghwa was ready to lie or find some excuse about not trusting Hongjoong’s skills at stitching gunshot wounds properly but the conversation he’d had with Mingi buzzed through his head, and he couldn’t help it. 

“I’m sorry your friend got hurt because of us,” he fiddled with the end of his shirt. “You didn’t have to go out and fight for us, but you put your friends... _family i_ n danger, to protect my family. So, thank you.” 

All of it came out in a low mutter, and thank god for the silence in his quarter because he didn’t want to miss the deepness of his voice when he spoke. Hongjoong took in his features for what it seemed to be the millionth time since he’d join them and just like Seonghwa, the Captain felt the heat rise to his cheeks. 

“You know,” Hongjoong started. Although his voice wasn’t as low as Seonghwa’s, the silence of the room was kept the same, “I understand, more than anyone what it means to protect those you love. Even if it means giving yourself up for them,” he gulped the lump the formed on his throat. “These guys mean the world to me and without them...” 

Hongjoong didn’t finish the sentence, but Seonghwa didn’t need to hear it all to understand what he meant. Wordlessly, Seonghwa knocked his side onto Hongjoong’s softly. The Captain gave him the smallest smile, but probably the sincerest one yet. 

Seonghwa glanced back at San, taking in the exhaustion still visible on the smaller boy and then back at Hongjoong, eyes softening at the leader. He hasn’t known the other for long, but Hongjoong has never looked so terrified in front of Seonghwa and the mage would bet his life on it that the Captain was holding back. 

He couldn’t blame him, though. Had it been Seonghwa in his place, he probably wouldn’t let any emotion show until he was somewhere where they wouldn’t see the tears flowing down his cheeks. Hongjoong was far from crying, but the tears remained unshed on his eyes. 

Gulping, Seonghwa raised his head and, “thank you for taking us in.” 

Hongjoong only shook his head slightly and muttered a small _it’s nothing._

Hesitantly, Seonghwa placed an arm around Hongjoong’s shoulder, going for a side hug which turned out to be more awkward than he anticipated, but excluding the initial tenseness when their skins first touched, Hongjoong didn’t move away. Instead, he sighed and waited for a beat before leaning onto the touch, head resting on Seonghwa’s shoulder. 

“Alright, this is awkward, can you–” 

“Yup, sorry,” Seonghwa removed his arm and stood up. He straightened the non-existent wrinkles on his pants and made his way to the door, stopping before leaving, “thank you.” 

And then Hongjoong was left in the room with an unconscious San and cold shoulders. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemme know what you think in the comments!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They reach the market!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SO SO SORRY!!!! I've been so busy with moving houses and starting uni yall but I hope you enjoy this!

“Hyung!” 

Hongjoong nearly threw something at him. 

From the doorway, Jongho smiled sheepishly at him as he continued, bowing slightly to apologize once he saw the irritated look on his Captain’s face, “sorry, hyung, didn’t want to disturb you.” 

Shaking his head, Hongjoong just sighed and leaned back against his chair, “what is it, Jongie?” 

“We just raised the nets and I think we actually got a full tank for Eden, this time!” 

The phrase was paired with a wide grin and a fist punching the air playfully and Hongjoong, for as stressed or tired as he was, he couldn’t help the smile that slipped on his face at the sight of the younger. 

It’s been about three weeks since the fight, and although they got some food from the other ship, they were starting to run low water and beer, not to mention that they had no more chicken to eat. They did have fish and the emergency stash at the bottom of Aurora, but none of them was too eager to constantly have fish for dinner and lunch. 

So, Hongjoong has been trying to do the math. Given all they had and the current number of fish, they could go back to the market and trade it for a large number of goods, even sparing enough for some extra beds for the newest three. Not the mention the extra medical equipment they were still missing. 

San was nearly healed from the gunshot, but having to change the bandages every day caused them to run out fast and it was always nice to have extras. Plus, once they stopped by the market, Eden could swing by the ship and give his wound a look, just to make sure all was good and Hongjoong hadn’t actually fucked up. 

Eden was probably the most trustworthy source they had on land. 

They met just a year after they all got together, and if not for Eden, they would’ve sold all their gold to a young man at the market, not knowing they were actually being scammed and instead of fresh water, they’d be getting poisoned. 

“That’s actually really great news,” Hongjoong nodded to himself. He slid some of the papers on his desk to the side, writing on the correct one and turned to Jongho, “do we also have enough for dinner?” 

“Yup! Tank’s full and Yunho’s taking care of dinner with Seonghwa’s help.” 

At this point, Hongjoong was no longer surprised. 

Little by little, Seonghwa was opening up to them, even if it was just tiny cracks. He was still cautious around the Captain, but he started cooperating and helping out with chores too. Turns out, he enjoys cleaning the ship more than he lets on and no one was letting that go to waste, so now, the mage was constantly bothered to help with the cleaning. 

And not only did he clean the ship often, but, thanks to Wooyoung, they found out he was just as good at cooking. Sure, Wooyoung and Yunho knew what they were doing, and whilst Yunho was the chef, by default, he didn’t mind letting the other take control of the kitchen once in a while. 

(Especially, if it meant that he got to spend more time with Mingi, whether it being at the main deck where he just admired his best friend play and mess around with San from afar, or in his arms when both of them were too tired to move an inch, settling for a warm cuddling session before dinner.) 

Which is why when Wooyoung dragged Seonghwa to the kitchen for help with a specific meal in mind, they were surprised, not only by the other’s cooperation but at how good dinner was that day. 

Regardless, no one let the shock stay present for too long, not wanting to scare the mage back into his room like before and instead, they complimented him, showered him with praises whenever they got the chance. To say that the blush on his cheeks was way too cute for his good, was an understatement if you asked Hongjoong. 

The corner of his lips curled up slightly and he nodded, stacking all the papers to one side before standing up. He organized his desk as he spoke, “we should talk before stopping at the market, just to make sure we’re all on the same page.” 

From his spot on the doorway, Jongho nodded. 

“I’ll call the others to the kitchen then,” and with that, he patted the wall and left. 

When Hongjoong got to the kitchen, he only spotted Seonghwa standing in front of the fire, with a large pan hovering above it and like all the previous times Hongjoong saw the mage use his magic, the same cloud of gold was surrounding the pan. A glance around the room confirmed that the mage was alone. 

“Where’s Yunho?” 

The mage jumped at the voice. In fact, he was so startled that when he snapped around, the pan hit one of the bricks protecting the fire and one of the burning logs dropped on the floor. Hongjoong watched with wide eyes as the floor (also wood) began burning, too and it was when the small flames started igniting on the floor that the Captain got to moving. 

He rushed to the bucket of sand at the corner of the room, ready to splash the already forming disaster but stopped, freezing still as he turned around. 

With a clenched fist, Seonghwa had formed a small circle around the spreading heat, lifting the ball of faint gold surrounding the fire into the air and Hongjoong, like many times before, was too shocked to say _or do_ anything. He could only stand dazed, bucket in hand as Seonghwa, slowly, moved the burning piece of wood back into its place, and using his pointer finger, he lifted the brick back, preventing any other incidents. 

“Hongjoong, the fucking–” 

“Ack!” 

In a single move, the Captain threw the sand on the wooden floor, eliminating whatever fire was left on it and silence followed after, settling upon the two as they remained motionless, too shocked to do anything. 

“Shit,” Seonghwa moved the pan aside, settling it on the table and the gold around it disappeared, drawing a breath of relief from the mage. 

The two shared a wide-eyed look and when the door opened, the two elders could only stare at their friends. It took one single look before Mingi burst out laughing, followed by Wooyoung, then San and as the other three pushed past them, they couldn’t help the giggles that erupted into laugher, taking in the scene in front of them. 

While Seonghwa scratched the back of his neck with a deep, crimson blush gracing his cheeks, Hongjoong was influenced by their laughter and before he knew it, he was laughing too, leaning on his knees to stop him from falling (he ended up rolling on the floor, wheezing). 

“Did he-” 

“He almost burnt down the whole ship,” the prince snorted. 

Seonghwa put the fire out with a single movement, clenching his right hand like he did seconds before, closing a golden sphere around the fire until it ended and turned to the others, red in the face, “shut up, or I'll throw you out, I swear to god.” 

It took them a while to settle down, but within moments, the laughter ceased to a few small giggles – mostly San and Wooyoung, who just wouldn’t stop giggling to each other, and Hongjoong took it as an opportunity to begin the conversation. 

“All jokes aside now,” he allowed a small chuckle from Yunho and continued, “we need to stop by the market in a few days.” 

“What’s the market?” Wooyoung asked, suppressing the giggles. 

“It’s where we do all the trading and get the stuff we need to live in here,” Yunho answered as he finished serving the dinner, finally sitting down with his plate. 

The Captain nodded, “and I think we should settle some shit before going out in the open with a prince whose head is worth more than my ship.” 

They talked throughout the entire dinner, only accepting a few jokes here and there, but as Hongjoong stood up to clear the table, everyone was on equal grounds and on the same page, which let the Captain breathe a little, removing another one of his worries from the top of his head. 

“So, what exactly happens at the market?” 

Hongjoong glanced at Seonghwa, accepting the dirty plates the mage handed him to wash with a small _thanks_. 

“Well,” he saw the elder move from the corner of his eye, making his way to the table, “we sell the fish we don’t eat to a guy there, get a few gold coins and then buy a bunch of stuff we need,” he lifts his arms slightly as Seonghwa places the cups onto the bowl of water. “We either buy a bunch of stuff we _don’t_ need or save the coins that are left, it depends on the days.” 

Seonghwa hummed from beside him. He snapped his fingers, whirling his index finger and all the plates emerged from the bowl, lined up side by side as the sponge wiped each of them clean. The Captain scoffed, leaning back slightly with a shake to the head and met Seonghwa’s smirk, “thought you could use the help, Captain.” 

“Show off,” was the only thing he said. 

The plates dipped back into the water and came out clean, hovering towards Hongjoong who had a dry towel already in tow. He wiped each of the plates dry as Seonghwa... held (?) them up. 

“Y’know,” the Captain started, “you’ve been using your magic quite often these days.” 

It wasn’t a question, but the mage caught the curiosity behind the sentence, so he shrugged, “guess I’m finally settling in.” 

With a perfectly raised eyebrow, Hongjoong faced the mage, settling the dry plate aside as he put a hand on his hip. 

“Oh?” 

Seonghwa shrugged, taking the towel from his hands as he did the job for him, “I figured if you wanted to throw us out, you would’ve done it a while back.” 

The Captain could only stare at him, admiring his bigger hands as they worked and enjoying the pink shading his cheeks just slightly, “what if we decide to give you in any way?” 

The mage paused briefly but resumed his movements just as fast. 

“Then you give us in anyways and I’m a dumbass for trusting you,” he smiled at the Captain. 

“Huh,” Hongjoong mustered, leaning against the table with his arms crossed. 

“Besides,” Seonghwa continued in a playful tone, “if you end up giving us in, I’m pretty sure I would punch you. And crush your heart... literally.” 

At that, the Captain gasped but couldn’t help the laugh of disbelief that escaped, punching his arm at the comment, “I could very much take you!” 

Seonghwa chuckled. He stacked all the plates and folded the towel nicely, handing it to Hongjoong, who took it, face twisting when Seonghwa said, “doubt that, you’re tiny with even tinier hands.” 

Seonghwa could only dodge when said tiny fists nearly collided with his arm. He took a step back with a yelp, catching both of his wrists as he laughed, but Hongjoong ripped his hand back and Seonghwa didn’t even notice that the redhead was still holding the towel until he hit him with it, multiple times. 

The mage had to force but his arms down to stop the attack, but the look on Hongjoong’s face eased his worries and told him the other wasn’t mad. A pout was plastered over his lips and his cheeks were practically the colour of his hair and even though the Captain tried to glare at him, Seonghwa couldn’t take him seriously. Not when both his (tiny) wrists were clenched cutely at his side and a blush decorated his cheeks. 

“I hate you,” he grumbled and after hooking the towel to the nail stuck on the wall, he stalked out. 

Seonghwa barked out a laugh as he saw the blush fading, but not entirely. 

“Yes?” Hongjoong looked up when someone knocked on his door. 

The door cracked open just enough for Seonghwa to slip through, leaning against it as he closed it, already inside the room. Hongjoong put his pen down when Seonghwa sighed, tilting his head slightly to urge the other to speak freely. 

“Sorry to bother you,” the mage started, crossing the room to sit on his bed. Hongjoong shook his head to say it was okay. “Just...” 

Another sigh left his lips, and Hongjoong started to get the tiniest bit worried. He stood up from his chair, making sure to separate the paper he was working on from the mess on his desk and made his way to the bed, sitting on Seonghwa’s left side. 

Hongjoong hesitated to comfort the other like he would with his crewmates, so he settled for bumping his shoulder onto his, completely ignoring the difference in size between them both, “it’ll be fine, Seonghwa. We never run into trouble when we stop by the market.” 

“Yeah, well, before you didn’t have the prince of KQ and a useless mage on board,” the taller muttered, leaning back on his hands and throwing his head back with pursed lips. 

The Captain frowned at him. 

Yeah, this time was definitely different from the other times. They’d already discussed this, though – Yeosang, Wooyoung and Seonghwa would stay in the ship with San, whilst the others did what they had too. He’d bring Eden to Aurora to look at San’s leg and get the fish but never get inside their room where they were hiding. For as much as Hongjoong trusts the elder, he’d rather keep the prince hidden for a few extra months, just to be safe. 

Realistically, Eden didn’t even have to enter the ship. But the other has to perform a spell to shrink the tank and take the fish, saves them a whole lot of trouble from carrying the whole tank out. 

Hongjoong would keep an eye for any news or information about the prince and whether or not he could leave the ship in the future, but they decided to play it safe and keep let them stay in Aurora. 

And Hongjoong was certainly not one-hundred per cent content with having a mage with them in the beginning, but honestly, he couldn’t see it any other way. Seonghwa was definitely not useless, and the Captain was not allowing him to put himself down. He didn’t want to admit that he’d developed a soft spot for the elder, except that he did, and he wasn’t too sure how to feel about it. 

He faced the mage, having to put a leg on the bed to look at him properly and leaned on his right hand, “you’re not useless. When did you even get that from?” 

Seonghwa raised an eyebrow, scoffing, “I’m a mage that can’t cook up any potions or perform any spells,” he glanced at Hongjoong. 

“But you can do that weird gold thingy you do with your hands and stuff starts floating around,” Hongjoong waved his hands around, trying to mimic him and Seonghwa felt the corner of his lips lift, giggling at the demonstration. Once he saw the smile on his face, Hongjoong returned the look, chuckling to ignore the blush and he cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck, “I’m serious, though, we didn’t let you stay because you can do magic. We allowed you in because you needed help and we’re not heartless,” he shrugged, “you’re just lucky you’re nice and not trying to kill us, otherwise you’d be dead.” 

Seonghwa shook his head, punching his shoulder as Hongjoong laughed at the elder’s weak glare. 

When Seonghwa sat up straight, rolling his wrists, Hongjoong noticed just how close they were then. Without Seonghwa leaning back, he could easily place his head on the other’s shoulder if he moved just a few little forward and from his spot, Hongjoong could see how long his eyelashes were and how smooth his skin looked. 

He flinched back an inch or two when Seonghwa turned his head, straight back at him. There was the slightest shift of eyes, from Hongjoong’s eyes to his lips, and the Captain inhaled sharply, putting more distance between the two. 

Seonghwa blinked, once and then twice, before clearing his throat, standing up abruptly and Hongjoong swore he imagined it, but there was a hint of pink spreading through his cheeks. 

“Right,” he wipes his hands on his shirt. Hongjoong adverts his eyes from his stare, nodding quickly as the mage spoke, “thank you… for the… uhm… yeah.” 

And like the last time he was in Hongjoong’s, he turned with a quick nod and left. 

Hongjoong felt his cheeks turn red. The warmth spread across his body and Hongjoong did _not_ know how to deal with that, at all. 

“We’re all set, Captain,” a hand patted his shoulder and Hongjoong nodded, smiling as he looked around Aurora. 

Seonghwa, Wooyoung and Yeosang were inside the ship, probably in the dining room as San waited for the rest to step off, Yunho already had an empty bag on his shoulder and Mingi and Jongho were arguing about something completely useless. 

He nodded to himself once more, checking his waist for any weapons that shouldn’t be seen and handed his handgun to San, sighing at the lack of protection he now had. 

It’s not that weapons weren’t allowed on the market, but he was almost sure that no one was aware that he and his crew could easily take down a ship of fifty men, and he’d very much like to keep it that way. Usually, those with guns were either pirates, royalty or working with either of those, if not both. 

In the eyes of the public, they were merely gentlemen who enjoyed fishing as much as their local fishermen. 

Once he was sure that both his knives were properly hidden but secure, he gave San one last look, “stay outside and don’t let anyone in.” 

The mapper only rolled his eyes and after clicking the safety on, he slid it next to his dagger, “yes, I know and if anyone seems crazy, I’ll buzz you guys and we’re off.” 

At the mocking tone, Hongjoong punched his shoulder playfully. 

He motioned the other three over and it was only a matter of minutes before they were climbing down the stairs at the side of Aurora, hands cautiously guarding their items as their feet touched the floor of the docks. 

“We’re off, Sannie! Don’t stab anyone while we’re gone – ouch, hey!” 

Mingi pouted when Yunho smacked his head, hissing at him to shut up and the latter just stuck his tongue out, rubbing the sore spot as Jongho chuckled at the two. Hongjoong rolled his eyes at the sight and waved at San, nudging Jongho, “let’s go before they start pushing each other into the water.” 

He ignored whatever Mingi exclaimed, smiling slightly and then they were off, smiling sweetly at the strangers who smiled at them, and glaring back at those who glared at them. 

It wasn’t much of a walk to reach the town, probably a good fifteen minutes (would’ve been less if Jongho hadn’t pushed Mingi for teasing him about Yeosang) but as they saw the crowd getting bigger, Hongjoong slowed his step to walk next to the other three. 

“Alright,” he breathes out, “I’ll talk to Eden about the fish and bring him back to the ship in a few minutes, I want you all there by then,” he fished out a few gold coins from his pocket, distributing it between the three. 

Mingi and Jongho grinned when they counted the money, nearly jumping in excitement, “fuck yeah, can we get other stuff, too?” 

“Sure,” Hongjoong shrugged, “just get what we need first then you can focus on what you want.” 

At that, Jongho’s eyes widened and he slapped Mingi’s arm repeatedly, already ranting about what they should buy after the tasks. The Captain couldn’t help but laugh, shaking his head at the two. He told Yunho to keep an eye on them, receiving an eager nod in return and they went their ways. 

He walked through the market, buying a few things he deemed necessary and by the time he reached Eden’s little shed, he already had his bag full of items – most of them being canned food and dry fruit. He knocked twice, using the same tiny pattern he always did and slid the door open upon receiving confirmation to enter. 

“Hongjoong-ah!” 

The Captain smiles at his elder, greeting him with a bow. 

Eden’s shed was quite small for a mage but honestly, with the number of spells and potions he cast upon the objects to make space, it seemed bigger than it looked. He had a large table pushed up against the wall by the window, on top of it were various empty flasks and a large mixing bowl in the middle (Hongjoong’s seen him cook his potions there) and except for the sink and the stove a few feet from said table, plus the small fridge on the opposite side, the cabin was mostly empty. 

The eldest of the two dumped a weird looking liquid inside the large bowl before making his way to Hongjoong, hugging him, “how’ve you been?” 

“Not too bad, we caught a few things for you,” Hongjoong replied, patting him on the back. 

Eden let out a sigh of relief, “that’s actually great, I’ve been receiving a lot of requests from that bluefish you got me last time.” 

Besides being a mage, Eden was also extremely famous for selling goods to the public. Sure, he was a mage and no one liked mages, especially not one that could poison with a single drop of water, but by now, Eden’s reputation had grown so much that people respected him more than anything. He was probably the only reason some mages were still comfortable being themselves. 

“Yeah, the fish is really good, I agree,” Hongjoong sat down next to the stove. 

“Definitely,” the elder hummed in response. He grabbed a wooden spoon from behind the bowl, using it to mix whatever was inside it for a couple of seconds as he spoke, “sorry for this, I’m just finishing up an order from this guy, it’ll be done soon.” 

They made small talk as he worked, Hongjoong being careful not to let anything about Seonghwa or his friends slip past until Eden poked a finger inside the bowl and licked the tip, humming before his face scrunched up entirely. Hongjoong chuckled a laugh, “not good?” 

Eden shook his head, “absolutely disgusting but that’s exactly how this one is.” 

Hongjoong only stifled a laugh in response. 

“I can meet you at Aurora, this will still take a while,” then added the mage, frowning at the mixture in front of him. 

The Captain frowned too. He didn’t mind waiting but he’d rather get back on with his sailing as soon as possible, just to avoid interacting with too many people and the questions everyone always asked. But he nodded regardless, bowing a goodbye as he made his way out. 

With the extra free time, he decided to simply glance around him as he made his way back, occasionally treating himself with his favourite beer or something completely useless he found extremely endearing. 

He must’ve gotten too invested in the small pendants the young lady was selling that he didn’t feel the hand on his shoulder until it shook him just slightly. 

With a certain tenseness engulfing his body, he turned around, hand’s clenching at his sides but found himself relaxing at the person ahead of him. Hongjoong couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief, immediately bringing his friend into a bone-crushing hug. 

“Chan-hyung, holy shit!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment with your thoughts haha


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trouble in paraside?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SOOOO SORRY FOR THE DELAY uni just started yall

"So, how’ve you guys been?” 

With a nod, a smile covering his lips, Chan hums as he takes a sip of his beer, “honestly, quite good actually. I don’t know if you remember Felix?” 

Hongjoong takes a second to recall the last time they met, nearly a year ago and ended up nodding, the deep voice and cute freckles coming to mind. In return, Chan smiled – a timid smile, one Hongjoong constantly witnessed on Yunho’s face when looking at Mingi and with just that, the Captain knew. 

“Oh?” He teased the elder, bumping against his shoulder playfully. 

Chan could only laugh, shaking his head slightly and leaning back on his hands as he placed the beer between the two. 

“Yeah, so, that happened,” the blonde grinned, pink tinting his cheeks, “he ended up sticking around and we... helped each other through some stuff.” 

Hongjoong was honestly glad. 

He always knew his friend to be somewhat stubborn and some sort of a perfectionist (much like himself, but he refuses to admit it), so hearing that someone is after his ass to make sure he doesn’t starve, is actually reassuring. 

“I’m glad,” and he was. He fiddled with his fingers, his stare coming down to rest on his hands as he spoke, “Felix is a fairy, uhm... a pixie, right?” 

At the mention of his lover’s species, Chan glanced up with a curious eyebrow, a sceptical look now on his face, “Felix is a sprite,” the other corrects, sitting up straight, and although the two were the same height, somehow, Chan looked somewhat bigger, “why?” 

“Ah, nothing against fairies,” Hongjoong is quick to say, noticing how the other seemed serious all of a sudden. 

“Then?” 

He takes a glance at Chan’s expectant look, sighing and decides to just come out and tell him about Seonghwa – keeping Yeosang out of everything, for now, would be best, for sure. He takes a brief look around them, ensuring that no one was listening to their conversation before letting out a breath, “I may have a mage on my ship... permanently...” He pauses, and then adds hesitantly, “I think?” 

Hongjoong doesn’t want to know what kind of reaction Chan would have, but honestly, he shouldn’t be surprised at how calm the other looks right now, given how he usually is. 

Instead of the shocked expression, Hongjoong was anticipating, the other Captain merely stays quiet for a few, eyes shifting around as if he were choosing his next words carefully, “well, what kind of mage?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Hongjoong-ah, there’s the _I make potions to shrink my plants_ kind of mage, and then the _would kill you and sell your heart to this very market_ kind _–”_

_“_ Jesus, none of those, what the hell, hyung?” Hongjoong hisses, stifling out a nervous laugh. 

With an amused glint on his eyes, Chan raises one eyebrow, “so, what kind of mage?” 

Once more, Hongjoong glances around before replying. He clears his throat and lowers his volume a tad, “the _I have magic seeping through my fingertips_ kind of mage.” 

His eyes widen a little but it doesn’t seem to be out of alarm, so Hongjoong relaxes a little. 

“Okay,” Chan nods a few times, processing what he’d just heard. “So, you like him.” 

“What,” was the instant response. Hongjoong felt his face heat up at the words, whilst Chan’s lips spread into a wide grin. 

“You do!” He laughed. Hongjoong pushed him but Chan only laughed more, leaning away from the inoffensive attacks before he calmed down, focusing on the matter at hand, “so, what’s troubling you then? Does he not like you?” 

“No,” Hongjoong gasped out. His eyes widened, “wait, I don’t know-” 

“Then what’s stopping you from confessing?” The older shrugged, ignoring the small visible crisis circling through Hongjoong’s brain. 

“Hyung, he’s a _witch_ -” 

“Hongjoong-ah, c’mon,” Chan tsked, “he can’t be a witch if you let him in Aurora, right? I don’t see what’s so wrong with liking this guy. You’re not gonna kiss his lips just because he does magic?” 

Hongjoong was quiet then. Why wasn’t he kissing Seonghwa, anyway? They’ve both shown that they’re interested in each other and sure, Seonghwa was a mage but that didn’t mean anything. Hongjoong has done far worse things in life, and kissing a mage would probably not even make it to the list. 

Right? 

“I don’t know, hyung,” he ended up shrugging, eyes returning to his fiddling fingers on his lap. “Mage’s are never welcomed anywhere and there’s no guarantee that he won’t feel bad one day and just snap my heart in two.” 

Chan took a long sip of his beer, making a face of agreement. 

“Fair enough, forget about him, then.” 

Hongjoong snapped towards him, eyes widening in shock at the blunt words and Chan only raised his hands in defence. 

“What?” He laughed and spoke with a playful tone on his voice, “you just said two good reasons not to fall in love with him, what do you want to hear from me, buddy?” Hongjoong let out a weak chuckle, mumbling something in agreement but remained quiet. Chan took it as a sign to be serious once more, “falling in love is all part of that, Joong. It’s literally allowing the person a chance at your heart and trusting that they won’t kill it, y’know. It took me quite a while to reach that conclusion, but it’s true.” 

Hongjoong smiled softly, “with Felix?” 

Chan snorted, “oh, it’s a long story, but yeah. It took him nearly burying me to the ground for me to confess my feelings.” 

Hongjoong giggled, but one look at Chan’s face and it told him that he wasn’t kidding, “oh, shit.” 

“Yup,” and the elder sighed, replacing his smile with a fond look. “My point is,” he finished his beer and his next words came out in English, surrounded by his accent, “ _you never know what’s at the bottom of the ocean unless you swim down there to see it,_ _y’know_?” 

The redhead took the words for a few moments, merely thinking them over in his head before he scoffed, a smile on his lips, ready to tease his friend, “I can’t tell if you just came up with those right now, or if someone said them before.” 

Chan chuckled, shaking his head, “nah, Soyeon actually said that to me a while ago. Weirdly enough, she was the one who got my head out of my ass about my feelings.” 

“Soyeon-noona?” 

From the corner of his eye, he saw Eden approaching the market, eyes searching for the redhead sitting at the sides and the Captain waved his arm, signalling that he’d be right with him. At that, Chan stood up from his spot, dusting his pants as followed Hongjoong through the market slowly. 

“Yep,” he said, “saw her and the rest of the merfolk a few months ago, by the blue fish land. They helped us out with some stuff.” 

“That’s great,” Hongjoong said with a smile, “I haven’t seen her in years, it’s nice to know she’s alright.” 

Chan shrugged, coming to a stop by the pub just before the market with an easy look. In a mere second, his face lit up and his eyes beamed, looking like as if the sun was suddenly contained in them and Hongjoong didn’t realize why until the familiar deep voice sounded from beside them. 

“Chris.” 

Hongjoong doesn’t remember much about Felix, but his voice was probably the most remarkable thing the redhead would remember. 

Chan leaned in, leaving a peck on his cheek, “hey, I was just about to go in.” 

The two shared a look, identical smiles masking their faces as Chan slid his arm loosely around the sprite’s torso, hand resting on his hip. 

“Yeah, I have to go as well, Eden is coming to collect the fish,” Hongjoong chuckled, pointing behind his shoulder with his thumb. Felix sent him a polite smile, the mere lift of his lips, showing how he didn’t find the other a threat and Chan only nodded. 

“Don’t forget what I said though,” the elder patted his shoulder, “you never know what’s at the bottom of the ocean, unless you swim down there to see it.” 

“God, when did you become so cheesy?” Felix snorted, pushing him lightly. 

“ _'_ _Tis_ merely my love for you which has influenced me, my dear,” Chan replied, in English this time and Hongjoong took this chance to wave at the two, walking towards his ship to avoid looking at the blush that had surfaced on the other’s cheeks, painting around his freckles delicately. 

Jongho came up beside him, resting his weight on one leg as they both watched Eden finish with the spell and Hongjoong leaned towards Jongho, waiting for whatever he had to say to him. He only spared him a glance before Jongho started speaking, whispering as he tried to look as discrete as possible. 

“Hyung, we should ask about... those three,” he said. 

Hongjoong snapped his head towards him, glare already focused at the black-haired male. 

“Shut it,” the Captain hissed back, “we’re not doing this here.” 

“But—" 

In front of them, a loud shrieking sound came from the tank, drawing the duos attention to Eden. The elder stood on the chair to stick his hand inside the tank, jar coursing through the water to gather the fish as fast as possible. 

As the last fish was caught, Eden jumped back down and screwed the lid in its place, smiling at the two. He raised the jar with a thankful look and nodded at Hongjoong, “thanks for this.” 

With a practised smile, Hongjoong nodded, sending Jongho one last look before he gently pushed the taller aside, making way for Eden and they left the room, heading to Hongjoong’s office. 

They'd done this many times before; Eden would come in, cast the spell of reduction on the fish and they’d discuss the details in Hongjoong’s office as the rest of the members guarded the ship. But even so, as they walked past the room belonging to the three newest addition, Hongjoong couldn’t stop his heart from racing, ears picking up any sound that could’ve sounded mildly odd. 

He let out a sigh of relief as they entered his room, “right, shall we get this done with?” 

Eden nodded, “so,” he hummed, looking around the room as Hongjoong went to sit at his desk, pulling out the papers needed, until Eden's words made him freeze, “what're you gonna do with the other mage inside this ship?” 

The Captain nearly dropped the stack of papers in his hands, “huh?” 

The mage stopped by one of the bookshelves, squinting at Hongjoong with a smirk. He shrugged, pulling a chair to sit in front of him, “I could sense it. A true mage, isn’t it? What they should call a witch, in our land.” 

“Don’t call him that,” Hongjoong snarled out before he could stop it. 

It was only for a mere second, but Eden stared at him with wide eyes, masking his surprise with another smirk. 

“I see,” he hums again, placing the jar of shrieking fish between them. “I won’t utter a word to anyone.” 

Hongjoong clears his throat, ignoring the evident flush surrounding his face and nodded, mumbling out a _thank you_. 

They busied themselves with the calculations needed, and it was only when Eden was crawling down Aurora that he stopped and fixed Hongjoong with a look. 

“I’m not one to judge, but be careful, Hongjoongie,” the mage said, “not all mages are nice.” 

“Nice like you?” the Captain scoffed, lips lifting slightly. 

The other shook his head, expression as serious as ever, “I don't know, but I didn’t necessarily feel a positive aura from that room, earlier.” 

And with that, Eden waved at his crewmembers, patting Hongjoong’s arm before crawling down the wooden ladder, leaving the Captain with a busy, overwhelmed brain. 

As soon as Eden had waved goodbye from the docks, they took off. With San behind the helm, carefully guiding the ship out of port and Mingi at the bird’s nest, eyeing their path out, Hongjoong stood at the side, mind whirring with thoughts. 

Just when they were at a safe distance from the shore, the land now only bigger than an ant by a few centimetres, did Hongjoong allow himself to go back inside. He nodded at San, silently asking the latter to keep watch for a few before disappearing inside the ship. 

He kept his head down as he walked, something unusual for the Captain and when Seonghwa spoke to him, stopping him on his way, he flinched slightly. The taller frowned at the reaction, retracting the hand that would be settled on his shoulder, had Hongjoong not acted that way, “we started moving again. Can we go out now?” 

And it truly wasn’t one of Hongjoong’s best moments. 

Instead of replying, reassuring that everything went according to plan because _it did,_ he opened his mouth, then closed it. Then did it again, then two more times earning a confused stare from Seonghwa but before the mage could say anything, Hongjoong walked around him, towards his room without giving him a response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave your comments below and tell me if I should include other idols as well!!! 
> 
> ps: stan sks and atz


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chaos, it's what it is. Absolute chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the small chapter ))))))):

It’s been two weeks. 

It’s been two long and painful weeks, and Hongjoong could feel Seonghwa’s anger grow as the days went by. 

After ignoring Seonghwa so bluntly when they visited the market, Hongjoong hid in his room and processed every word his friend had said to him, it took him a total of three minutes and forty-two seconds, according to the old wooden handmade clock he had up on his room, to come to a terrifying, but not entirely surprising decision. 

He liked Seonghwa. 

He liked him and he wanted to hold hands with him, cuddle with him when he was cold and he wanted to keep teasing the older until he punched his shoulder playfully or just teased him back and made his cheeks flare up like as if he was burning under the sun. 

At first, he panicked, paced around his room faster and nearly had a panic attack because _what the hell_ _was_ _he supposed to do now,_ but not only four minutes and thirty-six seconds later (thank you, old wooden handmade clock), Hongjoong was already brainstorming ways on how to cope with this newfound discovery. 

Over the past few days, Hongjoong was able to put zero of the ideas he had actually come up with into action. Why? 

Every time he laid eyes on the mage, he freaked out. 

Hongjoong was making breakfast, just hours after he had admitted to himself, he was just the tiniest bit in love with Seonghwa, when the door was opened. The man in question strolled in, a smile smaller than the ones they usually shared on his lips but Hongjoong didn’t pay that much attention. 

Instead, with the newest realization pounding through his head, he felt his heart speed up, unusually fast and he hadn’t even noticed he was doing it, but his eyes literally moved through every inch of perfection Seonghwa had on him – which, according to Hongjoong’s heart, was everything. 

That morning, Seonghwa had only chuckled nervously, asking him if he was feeling alright after the visit to the market, and Hongjoong, as he had stupidly done priorly, gaped at him like a fish for two seconds. He, embarrassingly, cringed, letting out an _eek_ before walking past the mage and out of the kitchen with no words uttered out. 

And yes, he knows he should get over himself and talk to Seonghwa, grow a pair and get the rejection done and over with before Seonghwa starts hiding in his room again, or worse, if any of this starts affecting any of his crew members. 

He knew that, for sure. It was playing in his head over and over again, every time he replayed the conversation with Chan in his head. Right after Chan’s imaginary voice spoke softly in his brain, the other half of his brain – the smarter half, would pop in to remind him to do it as soon as possible. Even more so after he spoke with San, just two days ago. 

It was past their bedtime that day, everyone was surely asleep and unlike months ago, where Hongjoong would check in on every member to make sure they’re okay before heading outside for his watch, now the Captain would just knock and shout _goodnight,_ earning the same responses (sometimes more than one per room). 

Though, as Hongjoong made his way to sit at the helm, chair already positioned in front of it with one of his sketchbooks placed on it, he stumbled upon San sitting right beside his empty chair, a notebook opened on his legs as he rapidly moved his pencil over the pages, completely unaware of Hongjoong’s presence. 

“Sannie,” he made himself known, walking up the steps to sit on his spot. The mapper glanced up with a smile, immediately turning back to his book, “what’s wrong, San?” 

At the question, San hesitated. Hongjoong noticed how the hand on the paper stilled and the mapper sighed, shutting his notebook to look at the Captain properly, “hyung, promise to be honest?” 

Hongjoong raised an eyebrow and shrugged one shoulder, “I’m always honest with you.” 

San eyed him for a few moments and he nodded, gulping. 

“Hyung,” he started, fiddling with the pages on his lap and shifting his look to the ground, “you don’t hate Seonghwa and the others, right?” 

Hongjoong was definitely thrown back by the question. 

Sure, he’s been struggling a little (a lot) with his feelings and that’s caused him to push the three newest additions to the crew away, but he didn’t hate them. He’s sure he could never hate them, at this point, they were growing on him, and he would never admit that to anyone. 

“Of course not,” he replied, “why are you asking?” 

San answered his question with another, “so, we’re not giving them in... right?” 

“San, of course not,” Hongjoong scoffed, crossing one leg over the other with a slightly offended look, “you know I wouldn’t have done it, even on that first day.” 

San nodded at his answer, leaning back on his chair with a relieved look as he let a small smile settle on his lips. He grinned at Hongjoong and gave him a thumbs-up, “thanks, hyung. Just wanted to make sure.” 

Tilting his head, Hongjoong squinted at him, “is that why you’re outside? What happened?” 

He saw his friend hesitate once more, but got a reply anyway, “had a fight with Wooyoungie about something stupid.” 

That was weird. 

Apart from their first encounters, the two were seen joint at the hip, practically. Always coddling and touching one another, so to hear that they argued about something other than who was cuter, was a shock. 

“About what? Did you call him short again?” Hongjoong chuckled. 

San giggled out too, but shook his head as his smile slipped off, “no, uhm... he thinks you’re gonna throw ‘em out.” 

_Well, shit._

_“_ Why?” 

San shrugged, “since we came from the market, you’ve been kinda weird so we thought you caught something, but then Wooyoung said you’ve been ignoring Seonghwa-hyung, which doesn’t make sense unless you want them gone or he’s done something. Kinda what our argument was about,” the mapper chuckled out nervously, “might have said Seonghwa was a fault, but I have no idea what’s... uhm... going on.” 

Hongjoong hated that he had to have that conversation with anyone at all. He didn’t want anyone to worry, especially over something so small and stupid, so he promised San he would fix it soon, patted him on the shoulder and sent him off to go make amends with Wooyoung. 

(Which he did because the day after, Hongjoong carried himself to the kitchen for a beer, after having slept only a few hours through the night, but decided against it when he heard Wooyoung’s giggles and San’s voice from the room.) 

Which is why, Hongjoong had made up his mind for sure and after he had done the monthly check up on the ship’s weapons, he headed up to his room, scribbled some words on a paper as an apology and read them over and over. He thought if he repeated the words for long enough, he’d eventually say them when he saw the mage, instead of either just staring or running from him – if not both, in that order. 

He was currently, pacing inside his room, mumbling to himself and rubbing the back of his neck, occasionally pulling at the little mullet that was beginning to form. He was so concentrated on the stupid paper he didn’t even notice the way Aurora started shifting, side to side faster, and it was only when Hongjoong stumbled, having to grab onto his desk to keep his balance, that the Captain folded the piece of paper and made his way out. 

“What’s going on?” 

San and Jongho, both holding onto the railings, just shrugged, panic all over their faces when Aurora just shook more violently. The table they had outside had already flipped over, the chairs toppling with the wind which was starting to become more violent as the water shook some more below them and instead of the grey gloomy weather Hongjoong was expecting, his eyes were forced to squint slightly at the bright sky above them. 

The only thing making the ship move so dangerously close to flipping over, was the ocean. 

“Hyung, the tank inside is starting to lose water, the fish are jumping out,” Yunho came running from inside, grasping onto Hongjoong’s shoulder. 

A particular harsh wave hit them, and Yunho fell on his knee, palms pressed to the floor to keep from falling. Hongjoong nearly followed suit, but a hand held him upright, gripping his waist. 

“I think it’s a whale,” Mingi made himself known, dragging the Captain to the stairs. Once he made sure the Captain was holding, he reached for Yunho, holding the latter against him tight. Mingi held onto the mast while Yunho twisted in his hold, telescope already out and searching the sea. “Could be some sea creatures, maybe mermaids?” 

At the thought, Hongjoong shook his head, “no, I spoke to Bang Chan just weeks ago and he said Soyeon and her crew were miles away.” 

“It could be another batch of assassins,” Yunho mumbled. The blue sky was slowly getting filled with clouds, and Hongjoong felt dead slowly take over his body as Yunho continued, “I can’t see any ships, hyung…” 

Which means whatever was attacking them was supernatural and the only way they could get out of it safely, would be with luck. 

Assassins were what Hongjoong had first encountered at sea. Before he won over Aurora and let the others in, he travelled with another group of men, much older and definitely not what Hongjoong would call ‘nice’. He remembered having to work, much like a slave, with fear knocking at his door every five seconds. 

One day, when the sad excuse of a man they called a Captain was drunk enough to pass out in his room, none of the men noticed the change of speed they were going at, all either too drunk or dumb to see. Fragile Hongjoong, held onto a dirty bucket as he wept the floors, five years ago, when he saw the flash of a large tail-flick some water onto the deck. With curious eyes, the boy peeked at the sea, eyes widening when he saw the mermaid holding a finger to her lips, a pleading look on her eyes with the other hand clutching tight onto something Hongjoong could not see clearly. 

He remembered only getting enough time to sprint inside and hide, for hours until he deemed it secure to exit. What he found that day, would have to stay for a story for another day. 

Right now, the Captain gripped onto the wood, looking at the fear on his crew’s face and it _sucked_ so fucking much because he couldn’t do anything to avoid it. He couldn’t protect them and by the way things were going, they’d be lucky if the ship didn’t flip over— 

“What the hell is happening?” 

Out came a stumbling Yeosang with Wooyoung gripping his forearm as he leaned onto the prince for balance. 

Yeosang frantically searched for answers in Jongho's eyes but the younger could only hold out his hand, grateful when the Prince took it, bringing Wooyoung him and even as Jongho tucked him under his arm, Yeosang kept his hand on Wooyoung’s, the other gripping at Jongho’s waist. 

“We don’t know,” San replied. 

Small droplets started falling, drenching the group as it grew heavier and honestly, Hongjoong was surprised they hadn’t flipped yet, glancing up to take in the darker shade it now had. 

“Mingi, can you try close—” 

“On it, hyung,” without even hesitating, Mingi squeezed Yunho's waist before reaching for the rope attached to the mast, pulling on it. He grinned when the sheets folded, ignoring how harshly they collided with each other because of the wind and he gave Hongjoong a thumbs up. 

As Hongjoong was about to move, attempting to shut the other sheets, Seonghwa came strolling out, surrounded by gold and a concerned expression. 

The mage took the sight in front of him and closed his mouth as soon as he opened it, frowning. 

Perhaps, it wasn’t the best time, but Hongjoong couldn’t help but admire the mage once more. Everything, from the black strands of his hair to the specs of golden dust lifting him from the ground. He stood frozen on his spot, gulping when Seonghwa met his eyes, and his heart broke a little when they hardened upon meeting his stare. 

“What do we do,” were the only words directed at him. 

Hongjoong couldn’t speak. He didn’t know if it was because of the fear of losing his family, maybe it was the fear of losing Seonghwa, or if it was the emotionless expression the mage was giving him, almost as if he didn’t acknowledge the Captain as a person _at all,_ but Hongjoong was not moving and his brain seemed to have a stupid blank, because he couldn’t think of anything other than wanting Seonghwa near him, wanting to wrap his arms around the mage to make sure he wasn’t in any danger. 

“Dammit, Hongjoong, what do we do?” Seonghwa growled out, moving towards him. He looked more agitated now, desperation screaming from the way his eyebrows scrunched up. 

“Hey, back off!” San called out, not daring to move from his spot. 

With a glare, Seonghwa turned around, “don’t tell me to back off, this ship is about to flip over and your captain isn’t doing shit about it—” 

“Hyung!” 

“It’s true!” Seonghwa hissed out when Wooyoung tried to intervene. 

“He can’t control the sea, Seonghwa,” Jongho shouted above the rain, honorifics forgotten with a scowl on his face. 

“He could at least _try_ to keep you safe!” 

Hongjoong couldn’t move. 

He took in every single word Seonghwa said and still, he couldn’t react, for the first time in his life. 

Not even as he saw the huge creature emerging from the sea, just a few meters away from them. He wasn’t the only one that noticed, San was at Wooyoung’s side in a second, covering the male’s head with his chest and wrapping his arms around him to try to cover him as much as possible. 

From where he was standing, he could see the familiar shape of a tail swimming around the creature, just barely missing it as it jumped from the water and Hongjoong could barely react in time to take out his small hand gun, and shoot the shell that was thrown at them. 

As it exploded, a green layer of algae exploded out of it and Hongjoong nearly died at the realization that they were, in fact, being attacked by Assassins. 

“Shit, fuck!” 

Just as Jongho pushed Yeosang under his body, to the ground, Mingi shielded Yunho with his own, as did San with Wooyoung and Hongjoong nearly made a move towards Seonghwa, one arm out above his head to shield him and another towards the mage, but just like every time Seonghwa used his magic, Hongjoong was found dumbfounded at the sight. 

He’s never seen the other like this before. 

Still raised from the ground, Seonghwa’s bare arms were stretched out in front of him, hair sticking to his forehead as his eyes shifted from their normal colour to a shiny golden, dust seeping from each of his fingers as the same magic contained the green threat above their heads. 

The layer covered nearly the whole deck and Hongjoong could only imagine what it'd do if it fell on their heads. 

“Get inside,” San coughed out, gripping at Wooyoung’s sleeve as he pushed the boy inside the ship, making sure he was stable before he let go. Wooyoung managed to pull the prince in with him, leaving Jongho and San to help each other stand, eyes glued to the eldest of the group. 

“Shit, hyung, it is the Assassins, they’re getting ready for another,” Mingi pointed at the opposite side when a group of three of mermaids, all with brown short hair, poked their heads out, faces covered with masks as green as the danger above them, and Hongjoong should’ve seen it coming. 

The mermaid in the middle ducked underwater and second later, sprung out the water, throwing not only one, but two shells much like the other. 

“Go inside, go!” Mingi dragged Yunho across the deck, waving Jongho over too, but when the shells were a meter away from making contact with the ship, the familiar golden dust surrounded those, too. 

With a gasp, Hongjoong turned to look at Seonghwa, appalled by the mage. He had a trail of blood dripping from his nose and instead of a singular cloud of gold surrounding his arms, his pale hands were now its same colour, nearly as shiny as the dust itself. 

Another sharp wave hit them, sending Hongjoong against the railing and digging onto his side. He winced at the pain, following onto one knee. Seonghwa glanced at him, just barely but it was enough. 

The shade of gold which surrounded him, expanded, and Hongjoong didn’t know why but he felt a certain warmth engulfing his body. He watched as Seonghwa’s arms changed colour, nearly reaching his elbows until the mage moved, veins popping out his arms from the strength of his power. His fingers closed into two loose fists, moving upwards slowly, and it was only when screeching screams of the three mermaids sounded through the air, did Hongjoong realize what was happening. 

Wooyoung gasped from inside the ship, a hand coming to his mouth in shock as Yeosang tried to grab their hyung’s attention. 

It was only then that Hongjoong broke out of his daze-like stance and took a step towards the mage, not touching him but addressing him with soft eyes and unstable legs, “Seonghwa.” 

The mage only provided him with the tiniest glance, clenching his fists. Hongjoong saw the trembling on his hands and hesitated, but he reached out to him, his hand slipping through the cloud around him until it came in contact with his stomach. 

“Seonghwa, stop,” the captain gulped. He grabbed ahold of his shirt, tugging him down, yet he wasn’t successful. He held on tighter, pulling him harder towards the ground only to receive a threatening growl from Seonghwa. His eyes levelled  Hongjoong , specs of a gold glaring  daggers , until he finally came to his senses. 

Hongjoong let his lips lift the slightest bit when he was able to pull the mage down with both hands, “we’re safe, you can stop, Seonghwa.” 

He stared straight into his eyes, which slowly turned back to their original  colour and when Seonghwa let his arms drop by his side, hands eventually releasing all the tension,  Hongjoong allowed himself to step closer to him, arms around his waist tightly before he pressed even closer. He was able to lay his head against his chest with arms tight around his body, and  Hongjoong did not move an inch. Not as he felt Seonghwa’s arms lift onto his shoulders, pulling the Captain impossibly close as he breathed out, shakily, into the top of  Hongjoong’s head. 

He only let himself enjoy the moment. Rain already gone, sky clear once more and ship stable enough for Hongjoong to allow himself to inhale the safeness emitting from Seonghwa’s scent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemme know what you think and your theories hehehe


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hongjoong paces, Wooyoung is mad and Yungi gay

Hongjoong was pacing around the kitchen. 

He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. He was walking back and forth, one arm under the other, letting his mind run rouge with Jongho tapping his fingers against the table as Mingi fiddled with one of his guns, all ignoring the tension in the room. 

Seonghwa had passed out, just seconds after the whole thing ended. 

He still had his arms wrapped around him, nose buried in the mess of red that was Hongjoong, and when Captain pulled away to look at Seonghwa properly, he felt the mage lean more and more against him, eventually slumping over the smaller man. 

Of course, Hongjoong hadn’t hesitated to pick him up, both arms under his thighs as he tried to keep Seonghwa’s arms over his shoulder, but walking through the ship, with his room as the destination had Wooyoung sending him a growl, threatening to castrated the Captain if he even though of taking the elder anywhere but his room. As much as Hongjoong wanted to growl back and protest, he reminded himself that he wasn’t exactly in any position to whatever he wanted, so he ended up carrying the mage back to his own bed, leaving with a glare to where he is now pacing around his kitchen. 

Wooyoung only allowed Yunho and San in, and it was only because San is literally attached to Wooyoung and Yunho _has_ _a calming aura_ _, hyung._

That being said, Yeosang hushed them away, only hissing at them slightly and the three men have been waiting in the kitchen since then. It’s only been a few minutes, maybe fifteen minutes, but Hongjoong swears it's been hours. 

“God, what the hell is taking them so long?” Jongho muttered under his breath. 

Funnily enough, it was at that exact moment that the door burst open. Mingi nearly dropped his gun when he looked up, Jongho nearly tripping over his feet from where he was walking beside the Captain, but Hongjoong just froze, eyes watching for any hint of Seonghwa’s condition at his crewmates standing at the door. Yunho had a small smile on his lips and while it wasn’t the brightest smile the Captain had seen on him, it still made him relax slightly. 

San pushed the taller in, his shoulders relieved of the earlier tension as he spoke, “he’s awake.” 

Hongjoong let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. He walked over to Jongho’s chair and slumped against it, hands squeezing his thighs. 

Mingi laughed and he was quick to stand up, carefully letting the rifle settle against his chair as he engulfed Yunho in a warm hug, burying his face on his neck with Yunho’s arms around his shoulder, ruffling Mingi’s brown hair. 

“They kicked out us because they’re just talking about some things,” Yunho then added, pushing Mingi slightly away to address his Captain. Mingi obeyed but he didn’t move far, keeping the other pressed up against him with his arm on his waist protectively, thumb drawing circles under his shirt. 

“Yeah,” the mapper hummed, “talked to Wooyoungie about it. Apparently, this doesn’t happen often–” 

“Or at all, Seonghwa’s only done it once before,” Yunho interrupted. 

“Yep,” San continued, “he did it once but turns out it was pretty fucking bad at the time, some horrible things happened and they won’t tell us, but I’m guessing if it caused hyung to faint, then it wasn’t pretty.” 

“So,” Jongho cleared his throat, eyes focused on the ground, “kinda like PTSD.” 

No one replied, but Yunho mustered a tiny smile, giving a small nod and the hand on Mingi’s shoulder tightened at the thought. 

Hongjoong didn’t know what to say. 

He should be happy, joyful even. Heck, Hongjoong should be throwing a goddamn party, they all made it out alive. 

Only, he couldn’t find it in himself to even _smile_ because all he could think about was Seonghwa. 

His head had one million thoughts going at a thousand miles an hour. What if the mage didn’t talk to him ever again? What if this fight just damaged him even more and what if he never recovered? Sure, he was alive and he made it out without any injuries on his body but what if he decided that he’s had enough, or that he wants to return to his own land, as bad as it may seem. Those weren’t even the worst of his worries… 

Hongjoong couldn’t do shit about it, especially if the mage decided so. He wanted to be selfish and keep him all to himself but, it would all come down to what Seonghwa wanted. 

And right now, Hongjoong was at least ninety-nine per cent sure that Seonghwa hated him and wanted him dead, if not for being such an ignorant idiot these past few days, then for putting them all in unnecessary danger and not doing anything when they needed his Captain most. 

He gulped down the lump on his throat, finally daring to look at his friends in front of him. 

“Hyung,” Yunho was the first to speak. He patted Mingi on the shoulder and this time, the man did move aside, letting Yunho take a seat beside the Captain, “whatever you’re thinking, you need to talk about it with Seonghwa-hyung.” 

The group shared a look, not going unnoticed by the Captain. Mingi moved to sit on top of the table behind them, hands beside his knees as he leaned forward on Hongjoong’s left side. 

San nodded once, “he’s right, hyung.” He hesitated before speaking again, “Woo said... he probably exploded like that because of these past few days.” 

Hongjoong visibly stiffened, guilt coursing through his body. 

Of course, he knew that. It was literally his fault – he was the reason why Seonghwa was so pissed and then the stupid Assassins didn’t help either. 

“We’re not saying it’s your fault-” 

“Oh, for fuck’s sakes,” Mingi rolled his eyes. He pushed himself off the table harshly, glare on his face directed at the Captain as he ignored Yunho’s warning looks, “yes, it is your fault.” 

Hongjoong flinched at that. 

“Mingi!” Yunho gasped out, silently telling him to shut the fuck up. Jongho, who was beside him, didn’t hold back when he threw a punch at Mingi’s arm, drawing a groan from the elder as San just gaped at the outburst, too shocked to punch Mingi, too. 

Mingi didn’t retreat though, he just glared at Yunho for a second before turning back to Hongjoong, “looks, it’s true! You guys are lying to his face and that never works with Hongjoong-hyung, so I’ll just be the bearer of bad news and break it down for you, hyung.” 

“Mingi, I will sleep in my room for the rest of my life if–” 

“Seonghwa-hyung is pissed at you because you ignored him for ages. So, technically, yes, he got sick of it, and the stupid mermaids weren’t supposed to be here but they were and he just exploded. But shit, hyung,” the brunette ran a hand through his hand, a dry laugh falling from his mouth, “when the hell did you become such a pussy?” 

At the comment, Hongjoong glared at him. He didn’t move though, just squinted at the latter, trying to ignore the jab on his ego and Mingi shook his head, continuing, “when you found us at that beach, you were _so_ convincing, hyung. Heck, you made me risk _Yunho’s_ life, the love of my life because you sounded so sure you would become the greatest sailor of the seas, that you would protect us, but now–” 

San placed a hand on his shoulder, “Mingi, c’mon, man...” 

But Mingi shrugged it off, “no, like, seriously, hyung, you’ve been horrible to him because you finally realized you liked him, and your first instinct is to _run away?_ ” 

“Mingi, shut the hell up, right now–” 

Even Yunho was ignored. Mingi only spared him a glance and Yunho didn’t have the space to fight back. 

“You need to stop cowering away, and just tell him.” 

And although Mingi was correct, Hongjoong couldn’t hold himself back, not when he was feeling like the latter was driving twenty knives right through his chest and instead of letting the anxiety and tension out, it was just filling him up with more dread and doubt. 

“That’s rich coming from someone who hasn’t confessed to the _love of their life_ in four years,” the redhead hissed back, standing from his chair to face Mingi, head tilted to meet his eyes. 

He was thrown back by the smirk on Mingi’s lips though and even more so by his next words, “Yunho and I have been dating for weeks, hyung.” 

Well, shit. 

Taking a step back, Hongjoong glanced at Yunho for confirmation. The other two quiet boys did the same, and while San cursed out, disbelief on his cat-like features, Jongho gripped at Yunho’s forearm, shaking it slightly. 

Yunho didn’t need to speak to prove him right. His ears were bright red, his cheeks were slightly rosed up, his hand coming to scratch the back of his neck and Hongjoong felt offended at himself that he could recognize the symptoms of embarrassment on Yunho, but not realize when the two biggest dorks (he’s still in denial, but that’s just him and Seonghwa) the ship got together 

“What the fuck?” The Captain breathes out. 

Mingi shrugged like as if it were perfectly common for them to do this, arm pulling Yunho back against his chest before his expression turned even serious, “I mean it, hyung. I got my shit together and did it, but you guys can’t afford to wait years like I did. You’re important to us and so is Seonghwa-hyung and if both of you start being chaotic and a mess, then this whole ship will fall apart.” 

San put his initial shock aside and cleared his throat, nodding, “he’s right, hyung. I’m so beating your asses for not telling us earlier, but yeah, you’re our Captain, hyung, if you’re not okay then we’re not okay and right now, for you to be okay, you need to settle things with Seonghwa.” 

Hongjoong scoffed, falling back onto the chair as he ran a hand through his messy hair, shaking his head with a bewildered expression settling over his tired features. He looked at the couple for a second, recounting every encounter he’s seen them have and truly, he should’ve noticed sooner. Two of his best friends were dating, right under his nose and he didn’t notice. 

Not only that, but Mingi had to knock some stupid sense into his head about Seonghwa. 

“I’m happy for you guys,” he managed to say. He coughed out, trying to make his voice clearer, “really.” 

“We want you to be happy, too, Captain,” Yunho muttered back. He slid his hand down Mingi’s arm only to grasps his hand, “and if you just _talk to Seonghwa-hyung,_ it’ll work out, I promise.” 

Guess what Hongjoong’s doing? 

Pacing. 

Of course, he is pacing. 

He’s been pacing for a few seconds now, just biting at his thumb in front Seonghwa’s door and Hongjoong has never been this nervous before. 

He’s already knocked twice, but sadly for him, Wooyoung was the one opening the door. The Captain wasn’t even able to get a word out before Wooyoung had already shut the door on his face, making sure to glare as he did so and Hongjoong clearly got the message. 

After that, he really did tell himself he would leave and come back some other time, but then he heard some talking, Yeosang hissing something at Wooyoung and as the two bickered, Hongjoong just leaned in closer to try understand what was going on. 

When a few moments passed and he still couldn’t hear Seonghwa’s voice, he knocked again. 

“Wait a _fucking_ second, will you– ow, what the hell, hyung?” Wooyoung shouted out. 

And so, Hongjoong has been pacing, getting more and more nervous every time he heard one of the boys raise their voice from inside the room. 

His pacing only came to an end when the door burst open, a tiny but fuming Wooyoung made himself known, shoving his fingers against Hongjoong’s chest with threatening words, “I swear to God, if I come back to this and he tells me you even breathed the wrong away, I sill absolutely end you, Kim Hongjoong. Captain or not, my family comes first.” 

The red-haired male was too shocked to return the favour, so settled for a nod instead. He did, however, glare back at the shorter male, just to make sure he wouldn’t look weak in front of him. 

“Wooyoung, stop it,” Yeosang came from behind him, slapping his shoulder as he dragged the latter out of the way. Wooyoung pushed his hand away briefly, but before Yeosang could threaten him with a glare, Wooyoung let out _hmph,_ weaker than probably intended and grasped the prince’s wrist, dragging him away towards the main deck. 

Hongjoong’s head followed the pair for a while, still dumbfounded at the sudden threat, completely ignoring the door opened wide in front of him and for a second, he forgot why he was standing there, shaking his head disbelief. The mage had to clear his throat from inside the room to grab his attention and just like that Hongjoong’s jitters were back, making his shake slightly as the nerves came whispering at his skin. 

“Shut the door,” Seonghwa said. 

As the Captain stepped in, eyes locked with Seonghwa’s, he closed the door softly, leaning against it with his hands behind his lower back. 

There was silence for ages, way longer than Hongjoong had planned in his head and even Seonghwa had raised an eyebrow at him, looking rather impatient with the redhead and Hongjoong shifted his look to the ground, unable to maintain the eye contact. 

The sight almost comical; Hongjoong, the Captain who destroyed anyone who so much as hurt a single hair of his crew’s body, was looking so tiny, cowering within himself in and all this, under the stare of one singular tall, gorgeous and beautiful mage, fixating him with a tough look. 

Hongjoong breathed in, bringing his eyes to Seonghwa once more, Seonghwa who was casually sitting on his bed, hand behind his back to lean on it, as he had done many times in Hongjoong’s room and he finally managed to get some words out, “I’m sorry.” 

The Captain didn’t know what response to expect, but the dry chuckle that Seonghwa let out was not at all surprising, “really? Could’ve fooled me,” the mage leaned back on both hands, his legs spreading slightly and he tilted his head up, gazing at him through a glare, “what’re you sorry for?” 

If Hongjoong found it hard to speak before, he was definitely not going to put word with word right now. Not when Seonghwa was the reincarnation of sin itself, just existing in front of him. 

“For...” Hongjoong trailed off. He licked his lips, cringing at the sudden dryness and his hands clenched into a fist. He had so much to say, so many things to apologize for, and right now really was the moment to lay it all out on the table, hesitation be damned. 

But even with the opportunity dangling right in front of his face, literally _taunting_ him to just take already, he still paused, the words refusing to come out. 

Seonghwa wasn’t having it though. He was sick and tired of constantly being in the dark, especially when he thought he was safely holding the candle with both hands. 

That being said, Seonghwa pushed himself up, fed up with the lack of words, and honestly, if it weren't for the anger coursing through his body, Seonghwa would've collapsed from exhaustion, his magic barely holding him up. He didn't why he stood up, he just couldn't stay still for longer, waiting for whatever Hongjoong had to say. 

And if Hongjoong noticed, then he didn’t say anything. 

Not even when Seonghwa stood in front of him, brown orbs begging for him to say something, perhaps the truth, explain what the hell has been up with him the past few days. Seonghwa stumbled a little, leaning more to one side than the other, so he placed a hand besides Hongjoong’s head to balance himself. It’s not like he hasn’t been this close to the other before; he’s already counted the number of lashes on Hongjoong’s eyes once before and he could do it again if he wanted, but his mind was kind of hazy and muscles were screaming for a rest. 

Hongjoong, on the other hand, he had electricity running through his veins. Partially from the nerves, anxious about the whole situation, but now, because of how close his stupid crush was to his face. He didn’t divert his stare though. He forced himself to stare back at Seonghwa, completely ignoring the way the other’s eyes travelled through his face. 

“Why are you sorry, Hongjoong?” 

The Captain swallowed the lump on his throat, standing up straight, “I’m sorry for ignoring you these past few days,” he paused, “and for making you blow up like that.” 

Seonghwa scoffed again. With Hongjoong standing slightly taller, he could gently place his forehead on his and Hongjoong allowed just that, hands twitching to reach for the elder’s waist. He saw Seonghwa sway a little before placing both hands on the door, foreheads warm against each other with the mage’s eyes closed, “two weeks. Why did you ignore me?” 

Hongjoong didn’t want to answer. Why? 

Well, he didn’t have an answer. Or a logical one, that is. 

“Was it...” Seonghwa didn’t finish. He licked his lips, leaning back as he spoke, “did I do something?” 

“God, Seonghwa, no–” 

“Then why? I thought you were finally sick of us, that something had happened at that stupid market trip, but the others were sure it was nothing, they even said it happened once before, so I just shrugged it off. But then you wouldn’t look me, you literally didn’t utter a _word_ my way for days– Hongjoong, you even switched shifts with Yunho to avoid me,” the mage had his fists curled up and this time, Hongjoong wrapped an arm to steady him, scared he’d just topple over with the way he was looking. 

“Okay, let’s sit down, I’ll... explain,” Hongjoong muttered. 

Seonghwa didn't fight it, just let himself be walked back to the bed, an arm falling over Hongjoong's shoulder with a grunt of pain when the latter lowered him onto the foot of the bed, an arm reaching for the pillow to place it under his head. 

He saw Seonghwa let out a sigh of relief, closing his eyes for a second and Hongjoong laid beside him, closing his eyes as he said, "I met an old friend at the market." 

He didn't need to open his eyes to know Seonghwa was now looking at him. He was only a few centimetres from the mage, arms barely an inch away, that's how Hongjoong assumed he just turned slightly on his side. 

He continued, “he was actually one of the first valuable friends I had after… well, after a while… he kind of helped me deal with a whole ship to take care of.” 

Beside him, Seonghwa shuffled a bit and when Hongjoong opened his eyes, he was facing him, head on the pillow comfortable, body turned completely. Seonghwa hummed, “what did you talk about?” 

For a moment, Hongjoong contemplated lying, making up some dumbass excuse but he ended sighing, “at first, about his boyfriend, Felix. Turns out Chan-hyung fell in love with him and Felix had to nearly bury him to get him to confess,” the Captain laughed, “his boyfriend’s a fairy, a Sprite.” 

Seonghwa hums again, this time in comprehension. 

“Yeah, so we talked about them for a little,” Hongjoong gulped, pinching himself to get the words out, “then we talked about you.” 

He stayed quiet for a few seconds, fearing Seonghwa’s reaction. 

“What about me?” 

“My feelings for you,” he blurts out before he could cower away. He doesn’t dare glance at Seonghwa’s face though, in fact, he closes his eyes again, “he… made me realize I was being stupid for running from it. I mean, for Christ’s sakes, we literally live together, in one single boat,” and he lets out a small laugh, shaking his head and opening his eyes, still staring at the ceiling, “so, I wondered about it; why– what is taking me so long, why am I not telling him the truth, y'know?” 

The mage didn’t move. He didn’t even hum this time, “why didn’t you?” 

“Eden,” the Captain shrugged, turning his body to face him. 

“The mage from that day.” 

Hongjoong nodded. He fiddles with the hem of Seonghwa’s shirt, tracing the sewn in lines, “he sensed you in the other room, told me to be careful because of your aura.” 

He half expected Seonghwa to be mad, maybe even curse out Eden for it, but the mage just nodded, fingertips rolling the edges of his shirt beside Hongjoong’s own, “it’s because of my magic.” 

The Captain lifted his gaze, “I know. I figured as much.” 

And Seonghwa nodded, “mages have different auras, depending on what type of mage they are. Mages like me are not very common these days, we're… purebreds, like they used to say back then.” 

“I know,” Hongjoong quietly said, “and when that still didn’t change the way I felt about you, I was going to tell you. I even wrote some stuff down.” 

A small crawled onto Seonghwa’s lips, only to flatter slightly, “and then I lost it.” 

At that, Hongjoong shook his head lightly, grabbing one of Seonghwa’s hands, playing with his fingers instead, “no, you protected us. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, or reach some sort of conclusion.” 

There was a moment where the two just stared down at their joint hands, their fingers lacing together naturally before Seonghwa cleared his throat, “and what’s the conclusion of this conversation?” 

“I…” Hongjoong looked at him. Their faces were so close, their breaths mingling together as both their eyes glanced down to each other’s lips, “don’t really know, maybe that I like you.” 

And just like that, Seonghwa was kissing him, a soft press to the lips that was nearly nonexistent. Hongjoong let his eyes flutter shut, pressing slightly harder against him, making sure that he wasn’t just fantasizing about this for the millionth time. 

When Seonghwa pulled away, Hongjoong had to force himself to slow down and take a breath. However, his body moved on its own and he couldn’t stop from moving a leg over the mage, pushing him onto his back with both thighs beside him. Diving down for another kiss, Hongjoong felt Seonghwa’s arms settle around his torso and the Captain had to press himself closer to have Seonghwa’s hands gripping at his waist. 

“I like you, too,” Seonghwa said against his lips. 

“I’m glad,” the redhead shivered, hands running over his neck to his hair, “I’m sorry for everything.” 

“I am, too,” and they were back to kissing. 

**Author's Note:**

> dont hesitate if u see any mistakes!!! id rather know and correct them haha  
> hope you enjoyed it tho and lemme know in the questions hehe


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